


Even if We Can't Find Heaven

by demonbrained_knobstockings



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-11-22 14:24:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 27,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11382030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demonbrained_knobstockings/pseuds/demonbrained_knobstockings
Summary: Tala Ryder thinks Reyes Vidal is an asshole.Reyes Vidal thinks Tala Ryder is dangerous.It's a dubious start to something that just might make abandoning one galaxy for another entirely worth it...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Welp, did not expect to fall for Reyes like that. Didn’t expect to have to write stuff about him, for that matter. Some canon, some non-...**

“Hey!”  
  
“Piss off.”  
  
I flicked my gaze upwards, taking in the irritated asari bartender’s glare, and the krogan’s stupidity.  
  
“You order, you pay.”  
  
The krogan leaned forward, a lean that spoke of popping off ansari heads bouncing them off stuff. “I said –”  
  
A knife impaled itself into the bar, inches from the krogan’s fingers. Just like that, the altercation was over.  
  
It’d been a while – over six-hundred years – since I’d seen a cat fall off something and then nonchalantly lick itself like nothing had gone wrong. Seeing a krogan pay his tab in much the same manner made me give a snort of laughter.  
  
A voice buzzed in my ear. “Is everything alright?”  
  
“Yup. Same shit, different galaxy.”  
  
“Word choice,” said the voice. “Even if you’re not –”  
  
“Explain to me again why this is the best option?” I tried to keep the interruption low, but needn’t have bothered – I was hardly the only patron at Kralla’s Song hunched over the bar, muttering into a cup.  
  
Cora’s voice buzzed back at me, static almost successful at drowning out the frustration. “We’re not getting into this again, Tala. You know we couldn’t delay this any longer, our contact’s elusive enough as it is.”  
  
“Fine. S’long as we’re all aware that this will all blow up in our faces.”  
  
A deeper voice hummed in my ear. “You will do just fine... Pathfinder.”  
  
I couldn’t help the quirked smile. I could listen to that guy read reconnaissance reports all the livelong day. “Sweet of you to say, Jaal. Cora, please take pointers from the Resistance fighter on how to make people feel warm and fuzzy about themselves.”  
  
There was a sound that may have been a disgusted noise, or maybe more static. Before I could further needle Cora, however, a suede voice spoke from behind me.  
  
“You look like you’re waiting for someone.”  
  
Swell. Nothing like telling off a creep to get you in the mood for sensitive covert missions.  
  
I turned towards the man sauntering over, my expression hopefully that of a much-tried ansari bartender.  
  
“Can I help you?” I was delighted with how unimpressed I sounded.  
  
The man gave an easy smile – too easy – and leaned a casual elbow down onto the bar next to me – too casual. With the barest of nods at the bartender, he suddenly had two drinks in his hands. He held one out towards me.  
  
“Already got one,” I said, cool as a krogan. “And,” I added, “you’re right. I am waiting for someone. So if you could...” I made a vague shooing gesture.  
  
The man raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?” Ignoring my dismissal, he turned, propped both elbows back against the bar, and cast a surreptitious glance around, narrowing his gaze at other patrons. He leaned a bit closer – too close – and asked out the corner of his mouth, “Is it clandestine?”  
  
Well, yes, it _was_ clandestine, it was just the way he said it made me want to punch him. But Pathfinders, it should be noted, don’t sock random people. _Remember the three D’s: Diplomacy, Dignity, and Diction._  
  
“None of your business,” I snapped.  
  
He laughed. I’ll allow that it as a tolerable sound, a soft chuckle that evoked thoughts of dark promises made in darker corners. But he smelled too nice, like vanilla and cloves, and I was beginning to get a sneaky suspicion that he put product in his hair. From my admittedly-limited understanding, men were supposed to smell like sweat, and they certainly weren’t supposed to put product in their hair, unless it was to combat dandruff. I was on my guard.  
  
“How long have you been waiting?” The warm concern in his voice would’ve melted steel.  
  
“Too long.”  
  
“The cad!”  
  
“It’s a she.”  
  
“Is it? I hadn’t realized.”  
  
“Realized what?”  
  
“Nothing. What is this mystery person’s name? I’m very popular around here, I may know if something happened to waylay her.”  
  
“If I tell you, will you go away? You’re very annoying.”  
  
_“Tala!”_ buzzed my ear.  
  
I shooed this, too, away, though I knew it would have equal success – which is to say, none.  
  
The man was laughing again. I upgraded it to a nice sound, even if it did come from such an obnoxious creature.  
  
“Upon my honor as a gentleman, I will go away once you tell me her name.” His eyes were green with flecks of gold – or were they gold with flecks of green? Whatever they were, they glinted just a bit too much as he said this.  
  
“Shena,” I said, knowing in my heart that he would make up a very silly story about a girl named Shena that he once knew, and then pretend to be very hurt that I didn’t want his company while I waited, but then would most likely leave, no doubt eager to chase after easier targets.  
  
He didn’t disappoint on the absurd front. His eyes-of-a-dubious-hue widened. “Shena?” His gloved hand came to rest on his chest. “Why, that is also my name!”  
  
I couldn’t help the snort that escaped. “Very amusing. Will you go now?”  
  
A fairly ominous buzz: _“Tala...”_  
  
The man didn’t leave. Inexplicably, he looked as if he were enjoying himself immensely.  
  
I gave him a severe frown. The joke hadn’t been _that_ funny. My frown deepened as he held out that gloved hand. “Shena. But you can call me Reyes. I hate codenames.”  
  
_Hurk._  
  
There was a static-laden groan in my ear.  
  
For another moment, I just looked at his handsome face looking back at me oh-so-innocently.  
  
“Well, shit.”  
  
His chuckle drowned out Cora’s face-palm.  
  
I was properly sheepish as I finally shook his hand. His grip was firmer than I expected. He was more than I expected. “I was, umm... you’re not angaran.”  
  
“Or a woman.”  
  
“Shena sounds like a lady.”  
  
He flashed another brief smile. “And the mystery of why I prefer ‘Reyes’ is solved.” He pushed away from the bar. “The Resistance pays me to supply information – among other things.”  
  
“So you’re a smuggler.”  
  
Reyes shrugged, and with that, the playfulness fell away. He led the way to a secluded railing overlooking a more shadowed sub-level of the bar. The beat of the music was more intense here; I had to strain to hear him.  
  
“Your man – Vehn Terev – was arrested by Sloane Kelly, leader of the Outcasts. Word spread about what he did to Moshae Sjefa.” Reyes gave a tsk. “The people are calling for his execution, and Sloane?” He spread his hands before him. “She’s a woman of the people.”  
  
For the first time, I thought I heard a darker underlayment to his tone. But a lady of the people couldn’t be all bad.  
  
“I like her already.”  
  
He made a dismissive noise. “Well, she doesn’t like you.”  
  
This had an irrational sting to it. “She’s never met me.”  
  
He considered this, tapping the railing with his gloved fingers. Finally, he looked back at me, that golden-green gaze now calculating.  
  
“You work for the Initiative. Sloane was part of the uprising on the Nexus. I doubt she’ll give Vehn up easily.”  
  
There was a challenge there. I took it. “I’m taking him – with or without her permission.”  
  
He gave me an appreciative look, the first genuine one of our acquaintance, I suspected.  
  
He nudged his shoulder towards me. “We are going to be friends, you and I.” Maybe I had passed a test – then again, maybe he had already decided to lend an extra hand. Either way, he cocked his head to the side. “There might be another way to get to Vehn. You work Sloane. I’ll talk to the Resistance.”  
  
With that, he sauntered off.  
  
Caught off-guard by his abrupt exit, I called after him, “How do I contact you if things go south?”  
  
He shot a smile back at me, winked, and was gone.  
  
“Dick,” I muttered.  
  
The buzz in my ear had gone quiet. I wondered if somewhere, someone was stomping a defenseless comm unit to death.  
  
I cast a last look around the bar, but there was nothing else to keep me. I started to follow Reyes out.  
  
“Hey!”  
  
I jumped.  
  
“You gotta pay.”  
  
I nearly passed out from the blast of irritation leveled my way from behind the counter. Scowling towards the empty wake of a criminal too smooth by half, I fiddled too quickly with my omni-tool and ended up leaving an overly-generous tip. I tried to play it off with a cool nod, krogan-style. “Keep the change.”  
  
The bartender shrugged. “Always do.”


	2. Chapter 2

It was that soft laughter that alerted me to his presence, even before I heard that suede voice call out: “Pathfinder! Over here.”  
  
I’m not saying that I sprinted over to him, exactly, but perhaps my steps were brisker than usual. I’m also not saying that he was necessarily the safest thing to walk briskly towards, but then, I’d have pretended to be chummy with a group of kett if it meant I’d feel the eyes on the back of my neck ease up a little.  
  
He looked awfully smug for a smuggler as I trotted over. “Have a nice chat?”  
  
Under normal circumstances, I’d have been annoyed that he clearly had sources inside Sloane’s camp and was passing off intel like he was somehow omniscient. But having just ticked-off the leader of the Outcasts didn’t qualify as “normal”. Not that she had any right to be ticked-off – she was the one sitting on a stupid-looking throne, afterall; one would have thought she’d want to be called “your majesty” and whatnot. Well... _now_ I knew.  
  
I gave Reyes a very nice smile, then turned it back towards the turian guard that had shadowed me outside. I waggled my fingers.  
  
“And here I was thinking I’d sworn-off dangerous women...”  
  
I gave a squawk as he yanked me out of sight of the glaring turian.  
  
When we were safely sequestered behind some stalls, I tugged my arm away.  
  
“What?” I asked. “Sloane likes me. In fact, she’s invited me to a tea party that she’s hosting for only her most particular friends, and I’m to bring the cupcakes.” I looked around. “Are there cupcakes on Kadara?”  
  
Reyes stood there, just looking at me.  
  
“What?” I asked again.  
  
His eyes narrowed, but in the next moment, he was shaking his head and all went back to normal.  
  
“Don’t worry about Sloane. I have found a workaround.”  
  
I mimicked his switch from personal to professional, a trick I assumed he employed often. “Let me guess – it comes with strings attached.”  
  
“Not any new ones.” He glanced around, saying as he did so, “Remember, Evfra wants Vehn alive, so when you get inside, give him this.”  
  
He still wasn’t looking at me as his hand held out a small tube. “That’ll eat through whatever Sloane’s holding him in, and it can’t be traced back to us.”  
  
As I took the tube, Reyes leaned back against a post and glanced up at the sky. “A Resistance agent will be waiting to pick him up.”  
  
I thought about this. “What if he makes a run for it?”  
  
Finally, he looked back at me. “It’s covered. You just focus on... whatever it is you need from Vehn. There’s a maintenance shaft around the corner. Sending the access code to your omni-tool now.” His fingers danced over his glowing forearm. “That’ll get you inside. You should be able to handle the rest, yes?”  
  
Once more, he turned away without waiting for a response.  
  
“Hey –”  
  
Reyes paused.  
  
“There’s still that tiny matter of sticking me with the bill? You made Umi yell at me.”  
  
His brows rose in mock surprise. “I’m usually the model gentleman.”  
  
I snorted. “Uh-huh. Why don’t I believe you?”  
  
The smile he gave was blinding. “Because I’m lying.” He held up a hand before I could give voice to my true feelings. “When you’re done, come to Tartarus. First round’s on me... I promise.”  
  
And with that, he was gone once more, melting into the throng crowding the busy port.


	3. Chapter 3

I boarded the Tempest with a bit of a bounce in my step – things on the exile planet had worked themselves out quite well, if I did say so myself.  
  
Suvi’s voice sounded over the comm almost immediately. “Cora’s looking for you, Tala.”  
  
The apology in her tone made me wince. Sooner or later, I would have to face the music. For now, however –  
  
I found Peebee by the research station, pouring over sample notes. Seeing my approach, she grinned, then made a shushing motion towards the biolab.  
  
“In her room,” she whispered, pointing downwards.  
  
“Is she okay?” I whispered back.  
  
Peebee gave an enigmatic shrug.  
  
Mouthing ‘thanks’, I tiptoed back down the dimly-lit corridor and slid down a ladder. If she was in a good mood, things might just be okay; if not...  
  
The doors to the private living quarters swished open, then closed automatically behind me. I looked first to the bed. Unoccupied. Then a sporadic burst of keys drew my attention over to the corner, where someone was recording a flurry of notes.  
  
“Erin?”  
  
No response.  
  
I tried again. “Erin --?”  
  
This time, a hand flew into the air, holding up one finger. It descended once more to complete a paragraph on the screen, then twisted around, along with its owner.  
  
It was like looking into an impassive funhouse mirror, one that sucked all humor and self-expression out of your face. It was me, and yet it wasn’t – well, of course it wasn’t me; it was Eirenne, sister of my blood, twin of my soul.  
  
She looked vaguely surprised to see me. “Hello, Atalanta. Did it go well?”  
  
“It was fine.” Once you smoothed it all over, that wasn’t a lie in the slightest – establishing contact with the Resistance on Kadara, successfully transferring Vehn over to their agents, all while undermining Sloane in the process. That, and having (in hindsight) a fairly exquisite banter session with said contact, the softly dangerous laughter of which still rang in my ears. I felt a pang of wistfulness that I couldn’t gush about it with someone. Peebee would’ve been the most likely candidate for enthusiasm, but her penchant for secrecy was nonexistent.  
  
“That’s nice,” said Erin.  
  
The wistfulness abruptly became resentment. It all could have gone much, _much_ worse, and all I got was a “that’s nice” and what I assumed would be a lecture from Cora?  
  
“How did your research go?” I asked instead, through gritted teeth. “Was it worth skipping out on the meeting?”  
  
Erin had turned back to the monitor, the glow emanating around her like a shroud.  
  
“Oh, well enough.”  
  
I stood there, waiting for more. When none came, I left the room, the doors quietly separating us once more.  
  
  
  
Once back on the upper level of the ship, I decided to bite the bullet and find Cora.  
  
She was trimming the leaves of an overgrown plant when I stepped into the biolab. I hooked a boot behind an ankle, waiting for Cora to speak. I didn’t have to wait long.  
  
“Tala.” the biotic turned, setting the clippers down. Then she smiled – it was a strained smile, but a smile nevertheless. I took hope.  
  
“Have you already gone to see your sister?”  
  
I gave a nod, not trusting my voice yet.  
  
Cora firmed her lips. “Well, I imagine she won’t think to say it, so I will – you did good.”  
  
This might not sound like the most glowing endorsement, but coming from Cora, it was as if she had vaulted across the room, swept me up in her arms and spun me around. Unused to such praise, I just stood there, grinning – albeit a bit unsure.  
  
Cora sighed. “I’m sorry that we had to put you through that. The Resistance was expecting contact with the Pathfinder, and on such short notice –”  
  
I shook my head. “I know. Sorry for being so difficult about it. I didn’t expect... well, sorry for swearing. Twice.”  
  
The look Cora gave me was too understanding. I felt a sudden urge to hide in my bunk.  
  
“I’ll just be – see you at dinner.”  
  
  
  
It was never supposed to be this way. When Eirenne and I were born, the differences were almost immediately apparent: Erin was the silent, watchful infant, whereas I was (so I’m told) the loud, demanding one. We were both curious, but where Erin was observant, I was reckless.  
  
And so we grew, our personalities ever diverging, even as we looked so much alike. What I wouldn’t have given to switch identities with her, simply to play tricks on others. I nearly got her to once, but her conscience got to her before we actually put the plan into action. I tried explaining to her that you can’t have guilt prior to a crime, but it was no use – she was a lost cause.  
  
From the beginning, it was clear who would follow in Dad’s footsteps, and we were both perfectly okay with that arrangement. Erin never understood why I’d want my own path; I could never understand why she’d seek that kind of responsibility and duty on purpose. I mean, I liked the adventure aspect, sure, but other than that...  
  
And then Mom died. And then Dad performed the most epic family upheaval known to the Milky Way at that time. Six-hundred(ish) years later, Erin and Dad went into an alien vault...neither of them returned.  
  
Oh, Erin survived, but something happened when SAM’s implant was transferred into her head. I nearly lost her – again – and then after that, I dunno, it was like she was switched-off. The implant also bestowed upon her abilities that make it unwise to argue with her when she’s set her mind on something she deems worthy of the cause, even if it’s measuring the iron content of an asteroid sample when contact is needed to be made with the angaran Resistance and...  
  
... And nothing. Not anymore. Not really. Sure, I lost my sister in most aspects of the word, but hey – the Initiative got a new face for the cause and got to keep SAM up and running in the bargain. What was I even complaining about?  
  
  
**********  
If Kadara Port was the haunt of every exile deemed too dangerous for the Initiative, then the slums of said port was the morgue. Dreams lay bloated and rotted in the toxic puddles, the wails of those who failed to pay their protection fees still echoing across the black, barbed gate, dissipating alone into the wastelands.  
  
It was not a happy place, but then Reyes Vidal was not a happy man – at least, not at the moment. No, what he was at that precise moment was intrigued. Not that you can’t be two things at once, but Reyes liked to give his undivided attention to one at a time, be it joy, rage, lust...definitely lust.  
  
The object of his intrigue rotated slowly in the hologram before him, her slim figure in a heroic pose, her hair blowing wildly about her face: Eirenne Ryder, the Initiative’s new Pathfinder.  
  
Reyes leaned forward on his couch, an elbow braced on a knee, a glass tumbler dangling from his fingertips. Slowly, he raised the glass to his lips and took a sip, not taking his eyes off the young woman in the hologram as the liquid burned down his throat. He’d done his research prior to the meeting – he always did. He’d scanned through Initiative bulletins, hacked into digital communications, watched the official propaganda releases that skimmed over the hardship, hunger and violence that had met many colonists since humanity had reached Andromeda. And not that he was complaining; he made a healthy living, exploiting the weaknesses of burgeoning societies for his own gains.  
  
He took another burning sip, his eyes narrowing as the hologram slowly rotated. Something was off. The serene, composed woman the Initiative touted as one of their saviors was nothing compared to the fiery little imp he had met that very afternoon. Either the Initiative was lying, she was lying, or they both were.  
  
In short - intriguing.  
  
His gaze dipped lower on the hologram’s form, lingered there as the young woman’s image blithely continued to rotate around and around. He took another sip. Intriguing, indeed...


	4. Chapter 4

“Who is Reyes Vidal?”  
  
My head jerked up at the sudden question. “I – what? Why?”  
  
Erin swiveled her chair back towards the email terminal. “He has requested another meeting with me. It concerns the murders on Kadara.”  
  
“Oh – that.” What was I expecting? A love letter expounding my numerous abilities, including but not limited to dismissing crucial contacts and mocking deadly mob leaders? Even if it was a bunch of love-hooey – which of course it wasn’t – it’d still be addressed to Erin, not me. And had I really just said _oh that_ to a grisly string of murders?  
  
“Reyes Vidal,” I said, letting my head plop back down onto Erin’s pillow, “is an asshole.”  
  
I knew she was looking at me.  
  
“Why?”  
  
I chewed on my lip for a moment, then decided on honesty. “Remember when I went to Kadara because you had that really fascinating piece of space rock to stare at?”  
  
She nodded solemnly. I still couldn’t get over the fact that I could now throw blatant sarcasm at my own flesh and blood without a reaction. It was indecent.  
  
“Well, he was the Resistance contact. Pretended he wasn’t for a few minutes just to mess with me. Then skipped out on a tab and I had to pay it. He also smells too good and has questionable etiquette when it comes to exiting a conversation.”  
  
“He has a human name?”  
  
Trust Erin to overlook the interesting stuff. “Yeah, he’s a boring ol’ human. Smuggles for the Resistance, I guess, and turns out he has other uses for them.”  
  
“Should I go to this meeting?”  
  
I stared up at the metal ceiling, chewing on my lip some more. Erin was having one of her good days, when she was searching for something new and worthwhile to focus her fearsome energies on. Trouble was, all we had were worthwhile things to see to, and all of them of the highest priority. And call me selfish, but the last thing I wanted to do was pop that comfortable bubble we were currently in; telling her “no” in any capacity was a sure-fire way of accomplishing just that. I also didn’t want to knowingly set her sights on Reyes, a thought that oddly rankled. Not to mention the mental whiplash that the smuggler would receive upon meeting the stoic carbon copy of the pathfinder he’d already flirted shamelessly with... that _had_ been flirting, hadn’t it? The teasing, the chuckles... the wink...  
  
“Tala?”  
  
“Hmm?”  
  
“I asked if you think I should go meet this man.”  
  
“Oh, that.”  
  
...I mean, one doesn’t just throw winks about willy-nilly like that, does one? _And_ he had invited me to a club, said the drinks would be on him...  
  
“Tala?”  
  
I was going to need to distract Erin with something truly worthwhile, something a bit more pressing than a few teensy-tinesy murders in a port chock full of dastardly deeds.  
  
I jerked my head up once more. “Has Drack talked to you yet about the snafu on Elaaden?”


	5. Chapter 5

I went to Vera to test my case. 

“Heyyy, girrrl...” I said, sidling into the armory.

She gave me a side-glance before returning to her work, something assuredly having to do with the scattered pieces of gun strewn about.

“You know I have a younger sister, right?” she asked, snapping a small piece of something onto a larger piece of something.

I perched atop the bench opposite her. “Sure do – how’s Sid doing?”

“My point,” she said, unsnapping the smaller piece once more, blowing into it, then glaring through it, “is that I know that wheedling tone. What do you want?”

I tried to go for innocent wide-eye. “Just to see how my favorite –”

She turned the glare onto me.

I switched gears. “Fine. What would you think, personally, about me going back to Kadara and looking into those murders?”

Vera didn’t say anything as she took out a cleaning rag and dipped it into something greasy looking, but I knew I had her attention.

“Look,” I said, “Erin’s gotta go check out Elaaden, bring its vault up to snuff, soothe some ruffled shoulder humps...”

Vera added some spit to the grease and began cleaning the smaller piece. “And Kadara?”

I spread my hands. “And Kadara’s left in the lurch. But if we were to slightly spread our resources, even a little bit, I think we’d be able to make a lot more headway into setting up an outpost there.”

I waited for her to agree wholeheartedly. Then I waited for her to agree halfheartedly. Then I just waited.

Finally, she set down the blackened rag. “You remember I was on Kadara when you were, right?”

I frowned. “You and Drack were up to some shady business, as I recall.”

“Mm hmm, and shady business leads to shady people who know other shady people who saw this one shady guy leaning awfully close to a certain pathfinder.”

“It’s a really crowded port, I’m sure a lot of people were leaning close to me.”

“A shady guy who also happens to be a contact for the Resistance.”

“I imagine they must have at least a few dubious contacts.”

“A shady guy you met at Kralla’s Song.”

“I met a lot of guys –”

“Reyes Vidal.”

I gave my frown a prim twist. “I simply don’t see how this line of reasoning helps us solve murders.”

She gave a bark of laughter. “Fine!” She tossed aside the smaller piece. It pinged onto the floor. “Give me the bullet points.”

This was my chance. I stood, hands clasped behind my back.

“One,” I said. “Having already made contact on Kadara with my own personal flair, I feel it would behoove the team to continue in that mode of operandi, so as to not arouse suspicion into possible duplicity, fraud, or other complicit acts of ne’er-do-well nature.”

Vetra blinked at me.

“Two!” I said. “Kadara might not be the most fashionable of the viable planets for an outpost, but one that would most likely be established with the most ease, pending –”

“Pending nothing so simple as brokering peace between two warring factions?” she said dryly.   
“—Pending nothing so simple as brokering peace between two warring _criminal_ factions,” I corrected, “as well as solving a string of grisly murders that won’t exactly make colonists jump at the chance to settle there – a point that I’m sure we’ll want to stress when we make our case to Cora.”

“Oh, I’m sure of it.”

“And three,” I concluded. “You might be asking yourself, ‘Is it wise to have a pathfinder on two planets at the same time? Would this not cause some kind of ruckus?’ And to that I answer: nay. Is it not more beneficial to make it appear as if our patherfinders are capable of fixing vaults and striking down injustices in multiple places at once? It will make us appear invincible to our enemies, and they will tremble with fear, even when they’ve heard that the pathfinder is half a galaxy away and –”

“Stop!” shouted Vetra, laughing. “Please stop.”

I stopped. “Well? What do you think?”

Vetra shook her head. “You don’t have more of that stored in that brain of yours, do you?”

I mulled this over. “I’m sure I could, if you want.”

“Please don’t.”

*******************

I was perhaps the most satisfied six-hundred-something year old woman with a babysitter.

Vetra had done most of the talking. Between that and Cora’s anxiety over Erin’s eerily-placid warpath to Elaaden, it wasn’t as difficult as I’d expected to get the sign-off to go back to Kadara.

Only one thing still troubled me. I frowned across the pod at Vetra, who was compulsively snapping her gun’s clip in and out of place.

“Why did you agree to come?”

She didn’t answer right away, but stared out the window as we descended through Kadara’s dusty clouds towards the landing dock.

Finally she said: “In a weird way, it’s something that Gil said.”

I raised my eyebrows at this. “Gil? What – he write another poem?” The last one had slain me, something about the kett always bumming our space.

She shook her head. “He has a friend on the Nexus. She’s in charge of some kind of reproduction taskforce, and now he’s in a cold sweat because he’d never really thought seriously about having kids, but when he _did_ think about it, it made sense that of course we didn’t come all the way out here to just explore and then die off. We need descendants to keep it going, make the trip worth it.”

I stared at her. “Uh huh. So that’s why you agreed to come? Gil decided it makes sense to have some kids?”

Vetra gave me a look. “Don’t be stupid. It just reminded me that, sure, we’ve hit some snags in Andromeda, but it’s true – we didn’t come here just to win over a few planets. We came here to _live_.”

“Annnd...”

“And you’ve got a crush,” she snapped. “Excuse me for thinking you’ve been through some stuff and maybe should have a bit of fun while you can.”

“I don’t have a crush!” I sputtered. “Excuse _me_ for wanting to be useful, solve some crimes!”

“Yeah, you’re a regular Commander Shepard. Tell you what, why don’t you annoy me some more and I’ll try to come up with some hilarious stories to tell Reyes when we meet up with him.”

I sat in silence for minute, thinking about what she had said.

“Hey, Vetra?”

“What.”

“Can you give me the sex talk? Reyes makes me feel kinda funny down there, and I don’t want to jump him on sight without knowing what I’m doing.”

“Hey, Tala.”

“What?”

“Remember that time Liam made you laugh so hard you snorted soup out your nose?”

“Hey Vetra,” I said, more loudly. “Remember that time you told Erin not to bother going to see Director Kandros, you’d take care of it, no really, it was no problem?”

“Hey Tala remember when you forgot to bring a towel to the washroom, and Jaal had only been on board for like two days and –”

“Hey Vetra ‘member when I punched you so hard that –”

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

“You nervous?” asked Vetra as we circumvented the toxic puddles. 

“Shut up,” I grumbled. I highly-regretted not being more forceful in my assertion that I didn’t have a crush. I mean, I didn’t. Reyes was a twerp. A tallish twerp with broad-ish shoulders who thought he was soooo smooth, and put product in his hair to make _that_ smooth, and even if I _was_ nervous – which I wasn’t – it was only because this murder business had become so real in such a short amount of time.

A tingling sensation kept creeping up over me in weird places, like my teeth and my wrists. Surely that wasn’t normal; maybe some of the toxic fumes were getting to me.

“I wonder which building is Tartarus,” Vetra said mildly.

“Hmm -- maybe it’s that lean-to right there?”

“I was thinking maybe there’s a special corner designated in the warden’s office. There’s a sign-up sheet for dancing and a tiny radio quietly going _oons-oons-oons_.”

“I mean, it can’t be the only two-story with all that bass pumping out and the neon lights, right?”

“Your boyfriend has weird taste.”

“And just like that,” I muttered, “another murder was discovered on the outskirts of Kadara.”

Despite my crankiness, it was a good thing Vetra had come along. As I stood in the doorway of the club, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting, I noticed the cages lining the walls and decorating the upper floor on the other side of the balcony. A few of them were empty, but others housed dancers, male and female of various species, their silhouettes backlit by blinding pink lights. I watched as they twisted and slithered behind the bars; I didn’t know bodies could move like that. There was a human woman in one of the cages nearest the door. When she caught me staring, she grinned, running her tongue slowly up a bar and crooking a finger.

“That can’t be sanitary,” I said, then squinted. “Is she just wearing suspenders...?”

Vetra gave a grunt. “Come on.” She yanked me deeper into the dark club, circumventing grinding dancers with as much care as the puddles outside.

I copied her professionalism as we approached the bar.

The bartender took in our armor and frowns and jerked his chin in acknowledgement.

Vetra leaned in so he could hear. “Reyes Vidal?”

If he was surprised, he didn’t show it. He jerked his chin towards the stairs. “Second floor. Back room.”

My feet felt bolted to the floor. With a long-suffering sigh, Vetra tugged me over to the stairs, then up them.

“We don’t really have to do this,” I shouted over the music as we reached the balcony.

“You wanted to solve murders,” she shouted back. “He said he’s got info.”

“Yeah, but he’s a liar! He _told_ me he’s a liar! To my _face_!”

My whole body was now leaden. The door to the back room was approaching us at far too rapid a rate. My upper lip was sweaty. _Maybe he won’t be here..._

The doors swished open. From inside, I could hear an all-too familiar suede voice dismissing someone. I feared that a long-limbed lady wearing only suspenders would come sashaying out. To my relief, it was just a server removing an empty tray, fully clothed. Her eyes scanned our armor as we passed.

Inside the room, Reyes was lounging on a long leather couch, a boot propped up on a knee, one arm stretched along the back of the cushions. It was a confident pose, and yet deceptively relaxed. My first thought was: _that’s how a king should sit._

Reyes looked up at our entrance. A smile lit up his face; something else lit up his eyes.

“I’ll be right outside, Pathfinder,” said Vetra, her tones clipped. With a small shove, she sent me skipping into the room. The doors wooshed closed.

There truly would be another murder in Kadara.

“Ryder!” said the smuggler. “Glad you’re here.” Ever the gentleman, he rose, moving towards me with that dangerous saunter.

I swiped at my lip with the back of my hand and made my feet move, meeting him in the center of the room. Strange – his vanilla-clove scent was oddly welcoming.

“Reyes.” I held out a hand. He looked at it for only a moment before taking it in his. We both wore gloves, which is probably why it felt so warm. I noticed his eyes looked more green than gold today.

His fingers grazed along mine as he released my hand, moving back to the table by the couch. “I hope you had no trouble finding me. I also recall being somewhat in your debt. Can I offer you –” He indicated the bottle and extra glass.

I chewed my lip, tempted. But numbing my brain in any capacity would do me no favors at this moment. “No thanks.”

“You’re certain?” With a shrug, he squeaked the stopper back into the bottle, then resumed his seat on the couch, his boot returning to his knee.

I hesitated; should I keep standing, or take a seat?

The bastard said nothing, just watched me squirm. It was this that emboldened me to stride over to the couch running along the adjacent wall and casually plunk down, turning to face him.

He looked like he wanted to laugh. To his credit, he didn’t. I watched him recline back against the couch, his own drink cradled in his hand.

“So,” he said. “You’ve heard about the murders.”

Strictly business. I could match him there. “There’s a fresh body outside Kralla’s. Some of the locals say it’s the Charlatan’s handiwork.”

“I don’t buy it,” said Reyes, slowly swirling his glass. Ice clinked against the sides. “The Charlatan is discreet, careful. Whoever did this wants the bodies found.”

There was a distinct chance that his gaze flicked lower when he said ‘bodies’, but then it was face-level again. Maybe I’d imagined it.

“You sound like you admire this guy.”

“Or woman,” he said, smiling. I wondered if he was referencing my earlier misidentification.

“Right. So probably not the Charlatan. Whoever it is, though, they’re making a statement.”

“Mm,” he hummed, “but to who?” His fingers tapped the glass.

“Milky Way refugees and sympathizers.”

Reyes shot me a look. “How do you come to that?”

“Less than a third of the victims were Outcasts. I highly doubt someone’s trying to bait Sloane.”

“And?”

“The angaran victims. That threw me off for a minute, but turns out they were all public sympathizers to the Nexus exiles. Which makes me think –”

“The Roekaar.” He had leaned forward, his elbows braced on his knees. I didn’t mind that he’d somewhat taken the wind from my sails, especially given the thoughtful frown on his face. All playfulness aside, I liked that he didn’t talk down to me. Some guys have a tendency to, whether intentional or not.

“That's what I was thinking.” 

I watched him as he continued to tap his glass, still frowning. Then he inclined his head. “Let me show you something.”

As he rose from the couch, I followed suit, careful not to stand too close. It was an odd inclination, but then, perhaps I hadn’t been entirely joking when I’d said I got funny feelings around the man.

This effort proved to be wasted when he beckoned me over to the comm terminal in the back corner. It wasn’t the smallest room, especially considering that we were the only two people in it, but maybe that very fact had something to do with it suddenly feeling very crowded. As I came to stand next to him, there was a heavy buzzing in my ears. All I could smell was vanilla, worn leather, and whatever smokiness lingered on his tongue.

His fingers were dancing over the keypad. I watched as a map popped-up on the monitor. It was Kadara; most of it was familiar to me, displaying the known area currently supporting alien life, willingly or otherwise. I noticed a few pockets here and there, however, that didn’t show up on the maps I had already poured over. Most looked to be caves, or – judging from the narrowing of altitude lines – high bluffs.

“Look here,” he said, flicking a finger to zoom in on the map.

As I squinted, he shifted a bit to the side. I felt a light hand on my lower back, felt it gently but firmly draw me closer to the screen. His other hand lifted to point at a blinking red dot to the west.

“Have you and your crew scouted this area yet?” His voice was lower now that we stood so close together.

I shook my head, too aware that the hand still rested lightly on my back. Two layers of leather lay between, yet I could still feel his thumb absently stroke my lower spine as if it were flesh on flesh. I felt his hip brush against mine as he shifted his stance once more.

“It’s not far,” he murmured, “though there are a few tricky spots in between where exiles have staked camp.”

I nodded mechanically. It dimly occurred to me that I was holding my breath, and that perhaps this was not the most normal alternative to panting in his ear.

His finger grazed the blinking red dot. “This is one of the crime scenes. I was hoping that...”

His pause made me look up. Which was a mistake. We were standing far too close. His eyes were far too green. I would have preferred one of his easy smiles, but he wasn’t smiling, and I wasn’t smiling and of all the stupid ports in all the stupid cosmos...

He stabbed a button on the keypad. “— And I was hoping that you’d be available to check it out soon.” As quickly as the map vanished from the monitor, he was back over by the table, splashing some more amber liquid into his glass. He tossed it back, not looking at me. “Coordinates will be sent shortly, if that is acceptable.”

I was stung by the abrupt dismissal. But then, I suppose it was a weird blessing, for it allowed me to say in a cool voice, “Of course. We’ll head over as soon as we leave here.” With that, I somehow managed to cross the room, pause for the automatic doors, and leave, all without a backwards look. 

************************

Reyes frowned into his glass. This was not going according to plan.

Not that the plan was set in stone – he preferred a certain amount of fluidity to each – but in no iteration did he decide it might be prudent to fall for the little Pathfinder. Befriend her? Naturally. Seduce her? Gladly. Use her? It was an unfortunate, yet pivotal necessity, and – of course – only as much as she allowed herself to be.

But this... as callous as it sounded, so much more was at stake than a few more lives lost at the hands of the Roekaar. Though...perhaps he could bend the rules just a bit? Just enough to elicit a soft moan, enough to capture those quirked lips with his own, to slowly unzip that regiment-tight bodysuit and explore what lay just beneath that enticing surface...

Reyes shook his head. He didn’t have time for this. Or the need, no matter the beguiling form it came in. He would have to put some distance between himself and the delicious little Initiative creature. Not actual distance – he still required her assistance in certain matters – but certainly emotional, and even if it meant wounding her feelings just a little more, it would be better for them both in the long run...


	7. Chapter 7

A couple hours later had me forgetting all about dumb smugglers and their stupid handsome faces. Killing someone was one thing, but this – the krogan’s front plate had been pried off before he was eventually shot to death. Someone had wanted him to suffer.

“You okay?” asked Vetra quietly. She had held my hair back as I upchucked over the railing of the trailer. Coincidentally, it’s where I found the knife used in the killing.

“Yeah.” I swiped the back of my hand across my mouth. “Reyes,” I said, louder, glad of the sour taste in my mouth as I spoke, a far more appropriate association with him than spiced vanilla. “Looks like you were right about angaran involvement.”

There was a pleased humming noise on the other end of the comm. Then came the smuggler’s voice: “Let’s pay our local Roekaar a visit.”

Bile still stung the back of my throat. “You know where they are?” Thinking of his map and all the hidden areas glowing brightly, this perhaps deserved less anger than I felt.

Perhaps Reyes thought this, too. “I wasn’t sitting on my ass this whole time, Ryder. I’m looking at the place right now.”

“Send me the coordinates,” I ground out. “These murders stop today.”

  
  
  
  
The area surrounding the Roekaar’s base was deserted. I shaded my eyes against the blinding sun, looking for any sign of Reyes.

Vetra shrugged. “Wanna check it out?”

“Yeah. I do.”

“Atta girl.”

The doors whisked open for us. It took a moment for our eyes to adjust, but in that space, we knew we were alone.

“Your boyfriend isn’t much for keeping his word, is he?”

“Oh, thanks for that. Super helpful. Like that time Drack asked what was wrong with his shotgun and you –”

The doors in front of us whisked open. Suddenly, we were in the crosshairs of half a dozen Roekaar recruits.

“Don’t move,” one of them barked.

I played dumb – hey, it’s worked before. “Were we too loud?”

“No words. Farah will deal with you.”

The trailer that we had walked into wasn’t overly-large, but as we descended numerous steel stairways, guns leveled at our heads, the space widened beneath the carved-out rock. Below us, we could see more recruits sparring with one another. Containers lay strewn about; I wondered what they stored.

As we reached the rocky bottom, another group of angaran broke away and approached us. The leader was a female with righteous anger rippling off of her in waves.

Farrah Noskos spoke even before she reached us. “I don’t need to tell you what happens next.” Her deep voice echoed off the cavernous walls.

I sensed Vetra somewhere behind my right shoulder. I drew strength from that.

“You’re going to try to kill me and my friend. I’ve got a few questions first.”

“No,” she said. In another galaxy, in another time, she could have been a sultan. “You’ll bleed. Just like the others.” The knife she drew was identical to the one I’d nearly spewed on.

“So it’s true,” I said, looking at the blade. “You murdered innocent people.” My anger was beginning to dim my fear.

“Invaders and sympathizers are not innocent. I will protect my home.”

“So you’re fine with ripping front plates off people because they disagree with you? Look, I once had a neighbor who thought women were dogs compared to men, and sure, that asshole’s long dead, but not by my hand!”

Farrah flicked her own. “You believe we can coexist – like here on Kadara? Sloane lies to my people and uses them for power.”

“I’m not Sloane!” I shouted. I jerked a thumb back at Vetra. “She’s not Sloane! We _hate_ Sloane!”

But it was a lost fight. Farrah Noskos had made up her mind too long ago to change it.

“You are all the same,” she said, raising her hand higher. At that moment, a shot rang out. With a grunt of pain, Farrah clutched her fist to her chest as the blade went spinning away.

Vetra and I whipped around to see Reyes Vidal descending the stairs two at a time, a sniper rifle in his hands.

“Not so fast,” he drawled.

I was horrified at my level of delight in seeing him. “You’re late.”

“I’ve got a good reason,” he threw at me. “You’ll see in three...”

“Don’t just stand there!” Farrah Nosos shrieked, spinning around.

“Two –”

She turned back, her eyes blazing. “ _Kill them_.”

They were the last words she spoke. The ground around the Roekaar erupted into fire, blinding with its fury. I felt something crash into me, sending me flying backwards into a wall of empty boxes. The weight was off of me just as suddenly.

As I struggled upwards, there were a few more shots, and then... silence.

I finally regained my footing and found my way over to Vetra, who was standing over a Roekaar. He stared back up at her, his eyes shot with a mixture of hate and pain.

I jerked when she put a last bullet into him.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “Ship-shape. You?”

She nodded, then looked above my head. “I’ll go check the other bodies.”

As she stalked off, I turned to find Reyes behind me. He had his sniper rifle slung across one shoulder, and his hair was slightly disheveled for once, a lock falling across his brow. Perhaps he didn't use that much product after all. He smiled down, though it didn’t entirely meet his eyes. “Still mad?”

Honestly, I didn’t know if he was talking about his tardiness or his weird hot/cold act from earlier. Not that I cared, either way. “Nope. We’re good.”

I scanned the underground lair for Vetra, needing her to return so I wouldn’t do something stupid, like brush that piece of hair from his face. Like magic, she materialized from behind a large crate, a datapad in her hand. She held it out to Reyes.

“What’s on here should serve as enough evidence.”

He took it, nodding his head as he skimmed it over. “This is excellent. Thank you, Vetra.” He turned back to me. “So! The streets of Kadara are safe again... well, safer. You did good, Ryder.”

“Yeah, well, that was fancy timing with the explosion. Not sure we could’ve pulled it off otherwise.”

“Careful,” he said, brushing his shoulder carelessly against mine as he headed back up the stairs, “or I might start thinking you actually like me.”

If looks could kill, he’d have been ashes, gently sifting through the grates of the stairs. “Don’t get the wrong idea.”

Soft laughter trailed back down to me. “Don’t be a stranger, Pathfinder.”

And then he was gone. Again.

  
  
  
  
We were silent as our pod rose back up through Kadara’s dusty clouds. I imagine there were things we could’ve said, but then, we were both probably already thinking them. So I was surprised when Vetra actually spoke.

“If it makes you feel any better, you have my blessing.”

I frowned at my blackened fingernails. “Blessing for what, becoming a homicide detective? You can be my trusty sidekick with all the cool, snarky lines.”

“No, idiot – Reyes.”

Still frowning, I looked up. “Not that I need your blessing, seeing as he’s a twerp, but what changed your mind? I thought he was an unreliable shady guy with bad taste.”

The look she returned was steady. “He saved your life.”

I shrugged, going back to my nails. “Saved yours, too. Though I suppose it was his intel that put us there in the first place. Oh, and his explosives.”

“How do you think you landed safely in a pile of boxes?”

“Force from the explosion.”

“Or he threw himself on top of you.”

“I – what?”

It was her turn to shrug. “Just thought you ought to know.” So saying, she returned her gaze to the window, leaving me to stew on this in silence.


	8. Chapter 8

He was pacing. It was never a good sign, agitation having no place in the ever-evolving machinations of his mind.

He went to pour himself another drink, then stopped, glowering at the bottle.

Everything in moderation, be it drinking, gambling, sex... he ground his teeth. It was damn hard to practice portion control when you had limited control over the desired resource.

Abruptly, he turned on his heel and strode towards the doors of his private room. How easy it would be to simply exit through them, descend the stairs, sweep the room, grab a warm, willing body, drag it back upstairs, throw it onto the couch – he stopped before he reached the doors, before they could acknowledge his intention to leave.

His jaw clenched so tightly he thought it might seize up. His hands were fists behind his back.

_Everything in moderation..._

Swinging back towards the room, Reyes stomped across it, stabbed a comm key on the terminal, and made a call.  
  
  
***********************************   
  
I didn’t care. I didn’t care that he had stood so close to me, his hand on my back, looked down at me with that intense gaze, apparently thrown himself on top of me to save me, let us have all the credit for taking down the murderous Roekaar cell... I didn’t care that he had then vanished – or, at least had made no attempt to get in contact with me.

I didn’t care – I didn’t care – I didn’t _care._

This mantra was playing on a loop in my head when Suvi caught me heading down for dinner.

“ _Psst – Tala._ ”

I poked my head back over the top of the ladder. “Yeah?”

The science officer crouched down towards me, saying in a loud whisper, “ _I was going to tell the Pathfinder about this, but Vetra stopped me_.”

My brow furrowed. “She stopped you from telling Erin something?”

Suvi was a terrible covert operative. She looked left, right, and behind her, like she was afraid of being followed, before turning back to me. “ _There’s a voice message left for her – well, for you, I suppose_.”

I copied her loud whisper. “ _Who’s it from?_ ”

She looked behind her once more, making me laugh. “Come on, can it really be that big a secret?”

Her eyes were enormous when she looked back at me. “ _It’s from Mr. Vidal._ ”

That wiped the grin from my face. It also served to make Suvi look more gleefully satisfied than I’d ever seen before – it was subtle, but it was there.

“ _Everyone else should be downstairs for dinner,_ ” she said in a final whisper that most likely carried down into the galley. The nod she gave down the hall towards the stairs that led up to the meeting room was not lost on me.

“ _Thanks Suvi_.”

With a happy thumbs-up, she trotted back to the bridge.

I stayed on the rungs of the ladder, suspended halfway between the two decks of the Tempest, gnawing on my lip. I didn’t care. I didn’t. ...But say, for scientific purposes, that I did. Would I dare sneak back up those few rungs, see where that took me? Or would I instead slink the rest of the way down and mope into dinner, letting Erin deal with whatever the smuggler wanted, the chips falling where they may?

Well, if it was for science...

I could hear laughter permeating from the galley as I hoisted myself back up the ladder. Hopefully Liam was telling one of his outrageous stories, which would inspire Gil to try to outdo him – it should give me enough time.

Getting up to the meeting room undetected wasn’t the tricky part. The tricky part was nerving myself enough to flick my finger over the available call list, to uncurl that same finger in order to punch the blinking light next to one of the waiting names: Reyes Vidal.

I punched it.

_Maybe he won’t be available. Maybe he’ll let it go to recording. Shit – what do I say if he lets it go to recording? Science is dead to me_ –

“Ryder!”

I don’t think it had even buzzed for longer than a second.

“I was just thinking about you.”

Suddenly I had all sorts of things to say. “Yeah, I’ll bet you were. Suvi said you called about something important?”

“Thought you could use a night off.” I could hear that easy smile in his voice, yet there was a slightly strained quality to it. “Sloane’s holding a little get-together – I managed to snag an invite. Care to be my plus-one?”

I stared down at the comm unit. _Was that – did he just ask me out on a date? Do I care? Even if I do – which I don’t – I still need to figure out a way to get there, and_ –

My hesitation drew that dark chuckle out of him. “I promise to be a perfect gentleman.”

Welp, that did it. I did a “Suvi” over my shoulder, then bent lower to the unit to say in a low hiss: “Fine, but this is just a friendly night out, got it?” Ok, I maybe I did care, just the teensiest bit, but apparently not in a forgiving way. “And just so we’re clear, this is about free drinks. That’s it.”

There was that soft laughter again. “Whatever you want, Ryder. I’ll meet you outside Outcast HQ.”

The connection went dead.

My heart was hammering. Shit – I’d just agreed to go out on a date (I think) with a smuggler. I hadn’t asked permission first. Not that I needed permission to go out on a date (if that’s even what it was), but I would certainly need some kind of transport there. And in any case, what did one wear to an event thrown by a gang leader?

_Hurk._


	9. Chapter 9

I was perhaps the least satisfied six-hundred-something year old woman with a babysitter. Vetra – bless her – had again gone to bat for me, but turned out Erin required her particular talents elsewhere.

I stared instead across the small pod at the krogan warrior-turned-nursemaid. Don’t get me wrong, I doted on Drack, loved him like that grumpy uncle who always has something to gripe about, yet always sneaks you a couple treats. But that’s not really the guy you want escorting you to what is potentially a first date. With a criminal.

“So...” I hedged, “what sort of trouble are you planning on getting into while I’m off at a boring good-will function?”

The krogan gave me one of those smiles that showed too many teeth.

“You mean while some guy tries to smuggle his hand down your pants?”

I flushed, which just made him chuckle.

“Does everyone know about it?” I asked hotly.

He shrugged. “Just about. I think Cora’s the only one who won’t bring it up to your face, but then, she’s too busy trying to figure out a way to nip it in the bud.”

I folded my arms across my chest, the very picture of youthful defiance...not that I cared.

“It’s just a party,” I muttered.

The pod bumped around a bit as we made the descent down to the dock.

“And Kadara’s just a sandbox,” he rumbled back.

We said little as we disembarked and headed up through the landing bay. It was typical to draw a few stares, me looking so much like the famous Pathfinder and all, and then have those stares flick away after taking in the krogan.

Drack managed to surprise me after all. Whereas I had resigned myself to the idea of his shadowing me all night, he instead took a sharp right while I strode on ahead.

“Hey --?” I called after him.

“I’ll be around, kid,” he threw over his shoulder, then disappeared into Kralla’s Song.

Grumpy uncles are the best – _especially_ when they’re not allowed to carry around their shotguns.  
  
  
  
There was music already pumping out of the Outcast Headquarters. I could hear it just fine; I just couldn’t be near it at the moment.

The guard scowled down at me. “What’s the name again?” Clearly, he wasn’t thrilled to be stuck with the clipboard this evening.

I tapped the toe of one boot on the floor. “’Ryder’? With a ‘y’?”

He barely scanned his pad. “Nope. No Ryder here.”

If this was an annoyance contest, I was determined to win. “You sure about that?”

He smirked. “Very.” Well, at least I was giving him some sort of pleasure tonight.

“How ‘bout you check that list one more tiny time?”

“How ‘bout you turn around and move your ass away from here?”

“How ‘bout you make me?”

“I don’t make monkeys, I –”

“She’s with me.” I didn’t turn, but heard that suede voice wash over me, heard booted footsteps approach, then felt a gloved hand graze my waist. “Reyes Vidal.”

He didn’t even wait for the guard to confirm this before applying a slight pressure to my back and leading me forward.

“Oh, no, s’fine,” I heard the guard grumble. “Go on in.”

As usual, I was stuck between two emotions when it came to the smuggler – this particular stickiness was the result of simultaneously experiencing relief and irritation.

“Are you always late?” I grumbled, trying not to bask too much in the sensation of his hand on me.

He smiled down at me, looking immeasurably handsome and pleased with himself. “Usually.”

We were given little opportunity for idle chit-chat, however. Moments later, the inner doors to the headquarters had whisked open, welcoming us into its loud, dimly-lit core.

I suddenly remembered with rapid clarity that I hated parties. Why had I thought this was a good idea? I caught a whiff of vanilla. Oh, right – ‘cause I’m weak. It was ok, everything was fine. Whether or not this was a date, at least I had somebody to latch onto, and –

“Reyes Vidal. I was beginning to think you wouldn’t show.”

I felt the gloved hand slip away from my back. Then Reyes was moving forward to shake hands with a lovely angaran.

“Remember what I said about ‘fashionably late’?”

“Shhh,” she murmured. “Introduce me to your companion.”

Like all angaran eyes, hers reflected a mini cosmos. I found myself mesmerized by her gaze and low voice as she turned her attention to me.

“Ryder,” said Reyes, “meet Keema Oohrgun, the angaran representative to Sloane. And a friend. Sometimes.”

I smiled up at her. “Didn’t think Reyes had friends. Only contacts and colleagues.”

“Oh, I’m those, as well,” she hummed. “Who do you think secured an invitation to this event?” She studied me with those fascinating eyes. “I was hoping he’d bring you along.” She slid Reyes a sly glance. “You’re all he talks about lately.”

I was all ready to deny anything and everything, but Reyes beat me to it.

“Sorry to cut this short, but I need to take care of something.”

I stared at him, incredulous. It was one thing for me to deny the existence of whatever was going on between us – if there was anything – but for _him_ to...

“Are you serious?”

He was looking over my head. “It won’t take long. There are important players here tonight. You should mingle. Make a good impression.”

“Wow. Just wow.”

He finally met my glare. “I’ll make it up to you... promise.” As was his wont, he turned and melted into the crows.

“And there he goes,” said Keema fondly.

My lips were pressed tightly together, but I managed to part them enough to ask, “Any idea what he’s up to?”

“It’s better not to worry about what Reyes does.” She winked. “Enjoy the party.”


	10. Chapter 10

Mere minutes into my abandonment, and I was _really_ remembering why I detested parties. I’m not antisocial – not entirely – but when my brain was put together, they left out the part that would’ve otherwise allowed me to approach other people and have normal conversations about weather and, I dunno, work stuff.

But no, that part was mistakenly swapped with a lobe that makes me feel exquisitely out-of-place and scrutinized and, on a really bad day, ridiculed for no apparent reason. Thus my current position, hugging a wall as close to a corner as I could, watching other people mingle and flirt and do all the things that I sometimes picture myself doing, and doing competently, I might add.

“I see that Kaetus needs to vet the guest list more thoroughly.”

I jerked a bit at the sudden words directed my way. This was followed by a slight panic as none other than Sloane Kelly sauntered over to me. But I rallied the troops at once.

“Relax, your majesty. A friend invited me. I’m only here for the drinks.”

She laughed at this, waving a magnanimous hand. “Help yourself.” She then leaned up against the wall next to me, all buddy-buddy. If I hadn’t been on my guard before, I was now.

“Tell me something,” she said, bending her head closer to mine, “what’s a high-ranking Initiative lapdog like yourself doing with a known criminal entity like Reyes Vidal?”

I was suddenly very glad he had ditched me so quickly.

“Does it look like we’re here together?” I asked, widening my eyes and looking about.

“Come now” she purred, “it’s just us girls talking...I saw you when you came in, you know. Hard to miss that hair and the way Vidal was looking like he wanted to run his dick through it.”

Leave it to Sloane to take a nice thing and ruin it.

I gave a yawn. “Your parties are boring.”

“Have another drink.”

“You know, I think I will. Kralla’s should still be open...”

With that, I shoved away from the wall and stalked through the crowd, heading for the exit, feeling those crocodile eyes trail after me. 

_Lesson learned_ , I thought irritably. Parties are never going to be fun unless you know someone, and that someone needs to be more reliable than a third-rate smuggler.

The outside corridor was blissfully free of pumping bass and chattering. Until, that is, the outer doors swished open, letting in a small crowd of revelers. Before they could sweep me up into their stumbling celebration, I ducked into a sideroom, where it was even more blissfully quiet – except for the suede voice muttering to itself about serial numbers.

The force of my lividness was breathtaking. “ _Take the night off_ ,” I said, imitating his accent and taking a deep pleasure from the fact that I was butchering it. “ _Come out for a drink_.”

“Ryder!” Reyes looked up in mild surprise. “It’s, uhhh, not what it looks like.”

I was yet more furious that he sounded less than intimidated. “Oh, so you didn’t use me as a distraction to go through Sloane’s stuff?” My rage at this thought was tempered only by the horrified feeling that I might start to cry. This sucked so bad.

Reyes’ gaze flicked down towards the open crates and bottles lying discarded about. “Okay, it is what it looks like. But it’s for both our benefit, I promise.”

“I swear, Reyes, if you make one more fucking promise...are you even listening to me?”

His head had cocked to the side, then took on a mask. “ _Mierda!_ Someone’s coming.” He scanned the open crates, most likely sizing up which would fit him best.

I decided to take the high road and assist him. Striding over to him, I brought my fist back and slugged the smuggler in the jaw.

He let out a satisfying grunt and fell back a few steps. I clutched my fist, swearing at the top of my lungs as the doors whished open.

“What’s –? Oh.”

I swung around, still feeling a bit out of sorts. “Oh, I’m sorry – does this asshole owe you money, too?”

The guard’s eyes flicked from me, still clutching my hand, to Reyes, who was now leaning up against a crate, holding the side of his face, his shoulders shaking somewhat.

“Nope,” said the guard. With a mini salute in my direction, she turned on her heel and briskly marched away.

The doors were barely closed behind her when Reyes burst out laughing.

I whirled back on him. “Don’t you dare –”

He held up his hands. “Ok, ok, just give me one more minute.”

I glowered at him as he vaulted up the largest stack of crates, his clever fingers needing only a moment to trick the highest open.

“Ah- _ha!_ Finally – here it is.” Still balanced on the barest edge of a crate, he turned back towards me, his outstretched hand holding.. a bottle. He leaped lightly back to the ground.

My brain was having trouble processing this last bit of infuriating information. “That’s what all this is about – whiskey?”

Reyes pointed the bottle at me with a _tsk_. “The only bottle of Mount Milgrom in Andromeda. Triple distilled and six-hundred and fifty-five years old. This isn’t whiskey – it’s treasure.”

It occurred to me how badly I needed a drink. “Give me that.”

“Never.” Before I could shout at him again, he snatched up another bottle from the floor. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” He then grabbed my hand with his free one and pulled me to the door, which whisked ever-so-obligingly open for him.

“Reyes, wait! Where are you –”

His only reply was laughter as he yanked me around the corner, past the surly guard who only had time to say, “Hey, what’re you–” before we were back outside in the cool night air of Kadara, running through the empty marketplace, zigzagging through alleys and suddenly racing across rooftops.

I should’ve still been annoyed, but I wasn’t. I was breathless with the roguish thrill of it all – my hand firmly in his grasp as we leapt across the narrow expanse from one building to the next, my hair flying wildly about me as we ran, our laughter mingling with the stars.

It seemed like forever and yet only a moment when he finally slowed his pace, jumped down from a short stall, and came to a stop just at the edge of a massive warehouse.

We were both breathing hard. Reyes turned his head towards me, put a gloved finger to his smiling lips.

I dared a peek around him. Just across from us was an equally large warehouse, with a ladder running up the side. Beneath the ladder was a guard, yawning and scratching his chin.

I felt Reyes shift beside me, heard a clink on the ground. He then straightened, brought his arm back, and threw the other bottle down towards the other end of the warehouse. Glass shattered into the shadows.

“Such a waste...” I heard him lament, as the guard let out a grunt and shuffled off towards the noise. “Come on.” He still hadn’t let go of my hand. He tugged it onwards again, jogging us over to the ladder, then grinning down at me. “Up you go.”

“This better be worth it,” I said, though not as threatening as I’d intended.

It wasn’t a quick climb; what was left of my energy stores was depleted by the time I hauled myself up the last several rungs, scrambled on top of the roof, and fell onto my back, breathing hard.

Reyes wasn’t far behind, though I was pleased to see that our exertions had taken their toll on him, as well. He gave a winded laugh as he sank down next to me, our legs dangling over the edge of the building. He didn’t lay back as I was, though. He didn’t even open the precious cargo, just sat there, gazing across the expanse of inky, star-strewn sky.

“Gorgeous, isn’t it?” he murmured. “I sometimes forget.”

I struggled to sit up straight. My lungs were making a good recovery, but I still didn’t want to sound too breathless around him yet.

He gave me a nudge with his shoulder. “Is Andromeda everything you hoped it would be?”

I could feel his gaze on me, though I didn’t meet it. As beautiful and as mesmerizing as this view was, it was also heartbreaking in a way, and despite present company, desperately lonely.

I fought the tremor in my voice. “Honestly? I knew things wouldn’t be easy, but uhh... I dunno. It’s a lot to take in.” There was no way I could explain to him everything that had happened, everything I was dealing with, not without ruining everything – I also couldn’t explain the empty feeling of loss at this thought.

I shook myself and turned towards him. “What about you? Why did you come here, Reyes?”

There was enough starlight to see him give a thoughtful frown. His hands fiddled with the bottle held between them; seemingly of their own volition, the bottle was popped open, and he was taking a long swig.

“Fuck...” He stayed very still for a moment, his eyes closed, savoring.

Then he opened his eyes, smiled at me, and held out the bottle.

I took it, raised to my lips, and tried to take an equal swig. It wasn’t the brightest idea. Liquid fire crashed onto my tongue, choking and scalding me as it roared down my throat. I came up hacking and coughing, tears clouding my vision.

When I found my breath, I managed to choke out, “Good – good stuff.”

Reyes laughed, patting me forcefully on the back.

“Let’s just take that from you for now...”

I felt the bottle being gingerly removed from my clutches. I gave another weak cough, swiping at a few tears that had found their way down my face.

“Seriously, though,” I wheezed, “what about you?”

He was smiling down at me. There was such playfulness in it that at first I thought he wouldn’t answer me truthfully. Then the smile faded somewhat. He stared back out at the night sky, took another swig from the bottle – albeit smaller.

Then he said: “To be somebody.”

There was a raw simplicity to this confession that made me glad I already had an excuse for glassy eyes. I didn’t know what prompted me to answer as I did, what made me think that Reyes Vidal, handsome smuggler and all-around flirt, would need me to cheer him up, especially after his having ditched me so spectacularly, but something made me give his shoulder a soft nudge back.

“I think you’re someone.”

The look he gave me, lit by the stars, was – well, it was part tender and yet blazing, nervous yet dominating. I got a chill as it burned me, suddenly breathless once more.

He turned his gaze downwards, the barest of frowns on his face as he lifted my hand, tugged my glove off.

I gave a small gasp; the knuckles were still a bit sore.

His touch froze. “Does that hurt?”

I gave a tiny shake of my head. “Not really.”

“Hmm,” he hummed, now gently kneading the slender bones. “Perhaps, next time, you let me do the distracting, yes?”

Had we been sitting so close this whole time? Were our thighs always touching like this, sending small vibrations through to my core every time I breathed? The tops of our arms pressed together as he leaned a bit closer. I closed my eyes at his warm, heady scent.

My thoughts swam, then scrambled for something to latch onto – a joke! Yes, that was the ticket. Anything to alleviate these feelings of ...want... _need_.

“You want to punch me next time?”

It wasn’t the ticket at all. I realized this when I looked up, smiling, into his face.

He wasn’t smiling.

Mine faltered.

His grip on my fingers tightened oh-so-slightly.

“No,” he murmured. His gaze dipped down to my lips. “I was thinking more...”

And then his mouth was touching mine. I don’t even know if you could call it a kiss, just the barest of brushes, really. And yet the tingles from this barest of touches sent shockwaves right through me.

I don’t think he moved. I don’t think I wanted to move, just strike me down with lightening right now, this is how I would like it all to end, please don’t let this end here, I really don’t want this to stop, whatever this is – and then I swallowed. I mean, I think I swallowed. I must’ve done _something_ to make him stop, because he suddenly did, breaking away from me, his face a rigid mask. But it was too late. I had tasted his longing.

“Reyes...?” I whispered, touching my fingertips to his jaw, that fine jaw that I had punched with pleasure such a short time ago.

His eyes blazed back to mine. Without needing a second plea, his mouth was back on mine, but it wasn’t gentle this time. This time it was hungry. And desperate. And _needing_.

I moaned into his mouth. He growled into mine. Then his arms were around me, pulling me into a fierce embrace, and I discovered that I much preferred tasting the ancient whiskey in this way, as his tongue stroked dangerously across my own.

His lips left mine and I let out a sound of abandonment, only to be replaced by one of complete agreement, as he peeled back the collar of my suit and flicked his tongue just under my earlobe. I clutched at his shoulders as he lowered his warm mouth to that same spot and sucked at it, his teeth sinking in just enough to elicit a small cry from me. As if it was a cry for help, his lips found mine once more. Our tongues warred with one another; I was barely aware of one of his arms threading its way beneath my knees and scooping me up, just to lay me back flat against the rooftop. One of our boots must have kicked away the treasured bottle of whiskey; I heard it skittering away before toppling over the edge into nothingness. Reyes didn’t even blink – his golden gaze was for me and me alone, devouring me as he covered me with his own body, his weight so welcome that I gasped and lifted my legs up around his thighs. Our mouths again sought one another as he pressed his hips into me. His arms went around me once more, crushing me to him as we rolled dangerously close to the edge of the roof –

_Beep: “Got a joke for ya kid_.”

I froze in Reyes’ arms. He stilled, as well.

“ _What’s got four legs, no arms, and one tongue?_ ”

I groaned, but not the good kind that Reyes inspired.

“ _Look down and to your left._ ”

I shifted a bit beneath Reyes. He let out his own groan, dropping his forehead down into the cavity between my neck and shoulder as I peered over the side of the building.

Down below us was an unconscious guard. Above him, stood a large krogan-shaped figure. It waved up at me.

“Fuck,” I said, letting my head loll back.

Reyes gave a choked laugh. He rolled resignedly off, stretching out next to me on the roof. We lay there for a moment, catching our breaths as we stared up at the endless tapestry of stars.

“Thanks for coming out, Ryder,” he finally murmured.

“Hey, thanks for having me.”

His soft laughter stroked me in places I didn’t think laughter could reach.

I turned my head. He was already looking at me, his expression an eloquent mix of desire and satisfaction. Man, he made me feel attractive.

“Give me a call sometime, yes?”

I smiled back at him. “You bet.”

With another groan, I sat up, swung my legs over the edge of the ladder, and began my grudging decent back down to Kadara.


	11. Chapter 11

I was, in layman’s terms, a proper space cadet for the next several weeks. I couldn’t focus on very much, though I still somehow managed to pull my weight around the Tempest. But I didn’t _want_ my weight... I wanted _his_. I wanted to feel him stretch his deceptive strength along me, I wanted to feel those arms pull me fiercely, protectively close to him, feel the heartbeat in his chest, in his tongue, to gaze up into those wonderful eyes, see them look back at me with such ruthless tenderness and –

A piece of dried fruit bonked off my forehead. I jerked my head up from my oatmeal, glaring at Liam and Gil. They were leaning up against the counter in the ship’s galley, tossing the dehydrated fruit into the air and catching it in their mouths.

Liam gave a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”

With a heartfelt sigh, I went back to my oatmeal, scooping up a lumpy mass of it, tipping the spoon, and watching it glop back into the bowl.

A melodic humming came down the hall from the crew’s quarters. Another moment, and Jaal entered the small galley.

“Jaal!” called Gil in greeting. He slid the bag of fruit down the counter. “’Member how you said you’d teach me some angaran?”

Jaal reached for the bag, sniffed its contents, and took out a small piece. “I do.”

“Great,” said Gil.

I looked up in mild interest. Even lost in daydreams involving warehouse roofs, I wasn’t completely immune to the soothing rumble of the angaran’s voice.

“What’s the word for ‘stubborn’?”

Jaal slowly chewed the piece of fruit, swallowed. “ _Gosan yav daar_ ,” he said. “I believe it translates to ‘clinging to a rock’.”

“Excellent,” said Gil. “Liam, you’re a _gosan yav daar_ ass.”

“Likewise.”

I thought I saw the pair of them shoot me a mischievous look, but it made no sense, so I ignored it.

“What about ‘galaxy’?”

“ _Jarevaon_.”

“Day?”

“ _Novoa_.”

“Poncho.”

“ _Rofjinn_.”

“Hmmm... do angarans have any swears?”

“I believe _skkut_ would serve your general purposes.”

“Skkut yeah!” said Liam.

Gil laughed, then scratched his head. “Well, I think that’s a good enough lesson for today.”

Again, I thought he shot me a glance.

“Liam? Any other words you can possibly think of?”

Liam cupped his chin in his hand, tapping his bottom lip with his fingers. “I’m not sure, hmm...let me think...” His fingers stilled. “I know! Jaal –”

Okay, the guys were definitely looking at me. They were practically giggling.

“—How do you say ‘mouth’?”

“ _Shena_.”

The two nerds erupted into laughter. I imagine it must’ve been pretty hilarious from where they were standing, though perhaps slightly less so when lumpy oatmeal landed above their heads.

“Get it?” said Liam, wiping grey goo good-naturedly off his face. “ _Shena_? Like –”

Erin walked in at that moment. The laughter died instantly.

“Gil?”

Gil straightened, though the effect was lost somewhat with oatmeal dripping down his front. “Pathfinder?”

“I need your assistance with a transmitter.”

Her cool gaze swept the galley, landed on me.

“Hello, Atalanta. I got another email from that Vidal character. I’m far too busy to meet with him, however. Vetra said you might be able to fit him in?”

I could feel everyone’s eyes on me as my face blossomed in color.

“Yup. Sure. Whatever you need.”

“Thank you.” She turned and walked back out.

There was silence.

Then Gil cleared his throat. “I should, uhh...”

“Yeah,” said Liam. “Me too. Jaal?”

Jaal set the bag of fruit carefully back down. “I will accompany you, yes.”

I looked down at my empty bowl and sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *angaran translations thanks to Mass Effect Wiki


	12. Chapter 12

It’s weird how others’ perceptions of you shape how you act when you’re around them. On the Tempest, I was always the little sister, no matter my level of competence for something; on the Nexus, I was always “the spare”, disregarding feelings of personal significance; and on Kadara... on Kadara I was his. At least, I hoped so. It had barely been a month, and yet it already felt an eternity since I’d seen him. And, knowing his penchant for flirtation, anything could have happened within that space.

“Hey, Vetra?”

“Yeah?”

“Wanna grab a drink at Kralla’s before hitting the slums?”

She gave me a side-glace. “You sure?”

I gave a solid impression of a bobble-head doll. “Yeah.”

She shrugged. “Fine by me. Weirdo.”

She turned the corner by the entrance of the marketplace and I contentedly followed. No, not contentedly. I was getting those weird spasms in my wrists and teeth again. I just – now that I was finally back here, now that I was going to finally get to see Reyes again, I was suddenly anxious to put it off just a little bit longer. And not to sound supportive of this kind of habit, but sometimes a tiny bit of liquid courage can go a long way. The thought of cheap whiskey that I might actually be able to swallow without looking like an idiot sounded more than appealing.

It was not quite lunchtime when we entered Kralla’s Song. It therefore made sense that it was already in full swing, judging from the few chairs that were already knocked over.

Vetra stopped short; I nearly walked into her.

“So I’ll be over there in the corner, ok?”

“What? Why –”

And then I saw him, leaning up against the bar, talking with Umi.

I made a small sound in the back of my throat.

Vetra shook her head. “You really are pathetic.” She gave me an affectionate shove in his direction and headed for an empty corner table.

Horrified, I realized that my organs had suddenly jumped around – my heart was in my throat, my stomach was somewhere around my ankles...I think my brain must’ve jumped ship entirely...

_Freakin’...he kissed you! Several times. He kicked away thousand-year-old alcohol and didn’t even bat an eyelash. Clearly he likes you. At least a little bit._

Taking a deep breath, I finished what Vetra’s shove had started and closed the distance between us.

“...And that’s what makes you the finest...sexiest...bartender in all of Andromeda.”

Dear stars, the man was flirting with Umi. Yeah, my brain was definitely gone, leaving me to flounder, wondering what the fuck – leave, or slug him again, then leave?

“Will you gimme a break? Also her – she’s about to have a heart attack.”

I still wasn’t sure whether it was a good thing or not that I was just standing there, rooted to the spot like an idiot.

Then I heard that soft laughter, followed by: “Ryder!”

The deep pleasure in his voice should’ve been unmistakable. The smile on his face when he swung around should’ve been inarguable.

“Hi,” I said. I half-waved.

Umi had never made an effort to befriend me before. I wasn’t sure she knew how, even if she cared to. Still, something in her long-suffering heart made her nod her chin up towards the ceiling.

I followed the nudge. There, nestled at seemingly random points, were mirrors – one in particular was angled such that someone leaning from Reyes’ position might see people entering the bar.

He spread his arms. “Forgive me?”

“Damnit,” I muttered. “I knew I should’ve just sauntered up and done the dumb ‘hngh-hngh, you look like you’re waiting for someone’ line.”

He laughed as I came to lean on the bar next to him. “Yes, well, perhaps this serves you right for not trying to come see me right away?”

“Ah.” I bit my lip. “I wanted to, I mean I’ve been going craz—” I stopped myself.

His eyes went all half-lidded, dropped down to where my teeth had caught my lip.

“You’ve been going craze, hmm?”

A disgusted noise cut him off. “Can I get you a drink?” Umi flashed an annoyed look at Reyes. “Or a room?”

Whereas I wanted to melt into the bar, Reyes just laughed again. “Let’s try a lower-shelf whiskey for you, Ryder – maybe with some ice this time?”

Umi eyed him shrewdly. “You gonna pay, or stick her with the bill again?”

Seriously, I don’t know why she was all Team Ryder all of a sudden.

Reyes clutched at his heart. He was rewarded with an eye roll.

“So...” he said, turning back to me, his voice low and full of promises. “You have perfect timing. Saved me the trouble of looking for you.”

“Trouble?”

He _tsk_ ed. “I’m too shy for all that chasing.”

I let out a snort. “Oh, yeah. A real introvert.” I looked up as Umi returned, sliding a tumbler of amber liquid across the bar. I took a delicate sip. It still burned, but nothing like before...nothing like what his gaze was doing, right now.

“So,” I said, clearing my throat, “what’d you need me for?”

“Business.” He frowned, nudging my shoulder with his. “Such a nuisance.”

“And?”

He sighed dramatically and leaned away once more. “Fine. Have it your way. A business rival – Zia Cordier – lifted cargo I was moving for a client.”

“You want my help getting it back?” Hopefully I didn’t sound as eager to please as I felt.

His smile was so familiar. “We worked so well together on the Roekaar job, I thought you’d be willing.”

I gave a hum and took another tiny sip, licking a drop from my upper lip. “What’d she steal?”

He seemed distracted as he watched me drink, his eyes still half-lidded. “No idea. Client paid extra for privacy. Considering my fees, it must be valuable.”

“You didn’t check?”

He shrugged. “Honor’s got a price, and the client paid for it.”

“Whatever you say. So – we cut the profits, fifty-fifty.”

“Did you know that you’re adorable? Sixty-forty.”

“Deal.” I would have agreed to a hundred-zero, if it meant he’d call me adorable again. Vetra was right – I was pathetic.

We shook on it. I grinned like an idiot when I felt his grip tug ever-so-slightly closer to him. He let go with the greatest reluctance.

“Umi!”

It never took Reyes as long to catch the bartender’s attention.

“What – you want another?”

“Information, actually.”

“Yeah?” Umi’s yellow eyes flicked back and forth between us. “That’ll cost you more than a round of drinks.”

“Don’t worry,” he said easily. “My friend here’s good for it.” He chuckled as I gave his shoulder more than a nudge.

Umi leaned an elbow down on the bar, an impressive blend of boredom and interest. “So – whaddaya wanna know?”

“Zia Cordier. She been around recently?”

“You mean your ex?” Umi flicked another glance over to me, then away. “Yeah, she was here.”

I stared down at my drink, fiddling with the glass. Of course he had an ex. I’m sure he had a lot of exes.

“Umi,” said Reyes, “if having the occasional drink with someone makes them your girlfriend, I shudder to think what other activities will do.”

I felt his boot give mine a gentle kick.

“So, she was here?”

“Yeah, met with a salarian.” Umi thought for a second. “Shifty guy. Never seen him before.” She lifted a brow. “Maybe it was the Charlatan.”

Reyes gave a soft laugh. “Anything’s possible.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few credits, and tossed them onto the bar. “You wouldn’t happen to have overheard their conversation, would you?”

Umi casually scooped up the credits. As she headed back down the counter to squirrel them away, she tossed over her shoulder: “They were planning to meet someone at Spirit’s Ledge.”

Reyes smiled down at me. “And that’s why she’s the finest bartender in the galaxy.”


	13. Chapter 13

“ _Mierda!_ ” Reyes kicked the crate closed. “It’s empty.”

I frowned from my perch atop a large chunk of rock jutting out from the cave wall. That didn’t sit right. Not after all the hidden clues leading up to this place. I got a sinking feeling in my gut.

“What if this was all just some elaborate trick to get you here?”

I considered calling Vetra, but she was most likely too far out with the Nomad at this point. It hadn’t seemed like that big a deal to have her drop me off here, then have Reyes drive me back with the plunder safely recovered. All the fluffy feelings that had gone into this plan were gone in a _poof_.

“You mean, there was never any cargo?” Reyes scowled, raking a hand through his hair. He gave the crate another vicious kick.

“Bravo,” came a liquid purr from the entrance of the cave. “I knew you’d figure it out eventually.”

Reyes twisted around. At the same time, I swiveled my head towards the voice, and its owner. It soon emerged from the shadows, all hips and slow swagger – did all smugglers have to saunter like that?

“Zia.” Reyes said it like it left a bad taste in his mouth.

If I’d had to picture someone with that name, it may have come close to the real deal: fiery red hair, shorn to a short, edgy length; large, deceptively-innocent eyes; a full, pouty mouth that dealt in lies and duplicity with far too much ease.

She paused before she got too close, shaking her head ruefully. “Oh, Reyes. You could never resist a big payout.” Oh, and she had a fancy accent to boot. Terrific.

“What can I say?” Reyes bared his teeth in a smile. “I’m a greedy man.”

She gave a low chuckle. “That’s why you don’t have any friends. You’re selfish.”

Well! I can tell you that got my hackles right up. I jumped lightly down from my perch.

“Reyes is a better man than you think.”

The beautiful smuggler swung her head towards me. She had to have known I was there, yet she looked surprised all the same. Those large eyes took me in a long sweep. Her lips curled up.

“Oh, honey. You’ve no idea how wrong you are. But you will.”

“Leave her out of this.”

I’d never heard Reyes sound like that. It was if everything that had ever angered him got stored away in secret, but when it was unleashed... I couldn’t help but recoil from the force of it.

Zia merely batted her eyelashes. “You must really like this one.”

“Cut the shit, Zia” he spat. He had begun to move, one unhurried step to the side at a time. “What’s this all about?”

She pouted. “You’ve been taking all the good jobs in Kadara, my love. I was thinking, maybe we could partner back up. Remember the fun we used to have? We could –”

A rapid shower of Spanish words cascaded from Reyes’ tongue. I didn’t catch them. Nor, I think, did Zia, but the nuance wasn’t lost on either of us.

Her lips lost their soft pout, hardening into something that had already faced rejection once and hadn’t taken it well that time, either. “You’re mistaken if you think it hasn’t gotten more than just my attention.”

“So what?” said Reyes. He had almost reached my side. “The local smuggling union got together and decided to take me down?”

She shrugged. “Something like that.”

“And I assume they’re...” he spread his arms, looking about the cave, “...around? Waiting for your go-ahead?”

“Mmm, they are,” she purred. “But they can also be called-off just as easily.”

“If --?”

“If we were to become partners again! Work hard, play harder...incidentally, I would recommend not moving any closer to your new toy.”

As sweet as can be, she had her gun drawn, pointed not at Reyes, but at me.

Her pout was once more in place as she sauntered over.

“The thing about Reyes, my sweet,” she said, closing the distance faster than I would’ve have thought possible with those slow-mo hips, “is that he’s ever so fickle about what brings him pleasure.”

She was suddenly right next to me, curving one thigh against my own. “One minute he desires wild, uninhibited passion, and the next –” she traced the cool barrel of her gun lovingly down the side of my face, “—and the next, he’s having an amusing little dalliance with...well, whatever you are.”

“You’re a little fool, aren’t you?” said Reyes. The anger was gone, replaced by something yet darker. I didn’t like it.

Zia deigned to turn her face away from mine to look at him. “What was that?”

Crossing his arms, Reyes leaned his shoulders back against the jagged wall of the cave. “Have you been living under a rock?” There was malicious tenderness in the question.

Zia frowned at the charge. “What do you mean?” She brought her lips close to my ear. “Whatever does he mean, my pet?”

Reyes gave a low chuckle. “That’s an Initiative Pathfinder. _The_ Pathfinder, judging by the amount of demands for her return we’ll be receiving quite soon.”

The lovely smuggler’s eyes widened. She stood back a bit to take me in, then shot Reyes a suspicious frown. “Are you certain?”

“Very.”

Zia was circling me now. I was frozen. There was hardly space to breathe between this sudden crushing weight. This couldn’t be happening.

“How did you manage to get her here?”

Another soft laugh. “We’ve been, ahh... _helping_ one another with a series of tasks these last few months. I like to think I bested the amount of time it should have taken to gain her trust.”

“Are you a naïve one, pet?” she crooned into my ear.

I couldn’t help the shiver.

“Why did you yell at me when I revealed myself?” The pout was back in force.

Reyes shrugged. “As you said. I’m a selfish man. But I knew you would turn up eventually, much as you knew I would pick up on the clues you left me to bring her here.”

“I – yes, of course. My clues.”

I was shaking. I felt her hand at my waist, the barrel of her gun just under my ribcage.

“I will be honest,” said Reyes, now circling both of us. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to share at first.”

“You _are_ selfish.”

“I am.”

I heard his voice from behind her, low and measured.

“But then, as you said – I remembered the fun we used to have.”

“Mmm,” she murmured. Her fingers grazed my hip as she leaned backwards into him. “Remember that short time on Eos? You were such a beast.”

His soft laughter coiled about us. “I don’t recall any complaints.”

She gave a pleasurable hum. “Now then, what are we going to do with –”

There was a choking sound. Zia’s weight vanished so quickly it was as if she had vaporized.

“ _Connard!_ ” she shrieked.

I whirled around in time to see Reyes slam her to the ground, his hand wrapped around her throat, hear her scream “ _Move in!_ ” just before he ripped the comm piece out of her ear.

In the next moment, Reyes had straddled her chest, pinning her arms as she attempted to claw him. Booted footsteps could be heard echoing through the mouth of the cave.

That golden gaze met mine for only a second, but it was enough – enough to catch a glimpse into how Reyes had made such a name for himself in his chosen trade. Gone was the charming veneer; in its place was a stark ruthlessness that terrified me.

I ran. As the boots hitting the rock at the cave’s entrance were growing louder, I twisted about, running instead towards the carved tunnels in the back. They were dark – so dark – and I had no idea where I was going, only that the sudden shouting and gunfire was somewhere behind me. My palms scraped against the walls of the cave as I blindly struggled on, trying to keep track of how many times I turned, and in which direction. The air felt thinner, so thin that it was a labor to breath. I pressed my hands more firmly against the sides of the narrow tunnel, more to stay upright than anything else.

But then, I realized that it wasn’t as difficult to breathe. The tunnel also wasn’t completely devoid of light anymore. Up ahead, a small shaft of light illuminated the widening space between the cave walls.

And it was at this moment that I heard running footsteps behind me, boots striking the floor of the tunnel with much more confidence than I had had in the utter blackness.

I ran on. I ran so fast that when the tunnel curved sharply to the right, I ended up stumbling out into the blinding Kadara sunshine.

“Ryder!”

It was his voice – there was no mistaking it. There was also no mistaking the moment of dread that washed over me.

“ _Ryder!_ ”

I couldn’t stop. The rocky outcropping leading up to the ledge gave way to sand not much farther down the slope. To my right, however, the rock continued on, with just enough shade to perhaps shield me from a searching gaze.

It didn’t work. I could hear him gaining on me, his boots pounding along the rocky ledge behind me.

And then his weight crashed into me, sending us both staggering into the wall of the cave. I tried to scramble away, but a hand snaked out, grabbing my arm and hauling me back against a hard chest.

“Where are you going, _mi alma_?”

Yanking my arm away, I spun around, anger spiraling into the devil’s knot of fear and hurt.

“Do not touch me.”

Reyes narrowed his eyes. He took a step towards me. “And why not?”

“Oh, I dunno. Maybe because I’m a naïve little toy. I know fuck-all about you, and what I’m learning is hardly endearing.”

A stubborn lock of hair had fallen into his face. He shoved it back. “One could say the same about you.”

My laugh was high and brittle. “Yeah? Well, tell you what, _if_ you learn more about me, I guarantee it’s not going to be while I'm chortling over one of my exes holding a gun to your head.”

He took another step towards me. “I wouldn’t have let anything happen to you.”

If I backed up any further, I’d impale myself on the jagged wall of the cave.

“Super reassuring, thanks.”

Reyes dragged a glance behind us, then looked back at me, incredulous. “You didn’t believe the things said back there, did you?”

“You were very convincing.”

“I _had_ to be.” He took one more step towards me. “Ryder –”

“Don’t!” Bracing a boot against the wall, I raised my hands to his breastplate and shoved. The bastard barely moved.

I tried again, my face growing hotter with my fury that he wasn’t budging. “Why don’t we go ask your _lover_ if you were telling the truth or not!”

In an instant, I was back against the wall, his weight pressed up against me. I struggled, but he grabbed my wrists and pinned them beside my shoulders.

I scowled up into his face – one look at it, and I knew there’d be no asking her anything. Not anymore. Once more, I caught a flash of the darker layer beneath the charm.

“I suppose congratulations are in order, in that case,” I spat.

“Ryder –”

“No, really. You just took out all the competition in Kadara Port. Super impressive.”

“You would prefer that the bitch’s ambush had worked?”

“Of course not,” I snapped. “But can’t say as if I’m thrilled with the alternative.”

“No?” He pressed more of his weight into me.

Unbidden, I gasped.

“Ryder...” he said, more gently.

“Fuck you, Reyes.”

I was cut-off by his kiss. It wasn’t gentle – it was hard and angry, and when his tongue swept into mouth, it tasted of hurt and frustration.

I squirmed against him, despising the confused feelings of need crashing over me. It succeeded only in his hand grasping my thigh and jerking it up around his hip.

I gasped again, hating the jolt of want that surged where my legs pressed up against his hardness. I tore my lips away from his, eyes squeezed shut, breathing hard.

He didn’t release me, but I felt his forehead dip down the crevice between my neck and shoulder.

“Tell me stop,” he rasped.

I gritted my teeth against the pleasure coursing between my thighs, willing myself not to grind harder into his hips.

His tongue flicked against the pulsing tendon in my neck. His hands, still wrapped around my wrists, felt slick.

“Tell me to stop...”

“No.” It came out a miserable groan, torn between the hurt and want.

He bit my earlobe. “Tell me, sweetheart. Tell me to leave you alone and I promise I will.”

Dear stars, I couldn’t handle the building pressure at my core. I was either going to explode or die. I let out a strangled cry. “No more promises...”

He let out a growl. With that, his lips were back on mine, forceful and demanding.

One of his hands finally released mine, but it was only to reach up to the collar of my suit, find the zipper tab, and yank it down, exposing the tops of my breasts.

I moaned into his mouth, my tongue fighting his. I wanted to slug him; instead, my hand reached up, curling into his hair and tugging on it.

His free hand slid into my suit, beneath my bra. I cried out as I felt his fingers pinch one of nipples.

“Tell me you want this,” he growled, grinding into my hips.

“No...”

His hand pulled free from my suit, yanked the zipper down to my navel, then reached around to grab my ass, pressing me into him yet more thoroughly.

“Why do you have to be so stubborn, _mi cielito_?”

“Why do you have to be so stupid?”

Barely were the words out of my mouth when I found myself flipped around, the side of my face and breasts pressed against the side of the cave.

I felt Reyes slip his fingers into the open collar of my suit and peel it back, trapping my arms behind my back as it exposed them. As my hair was lifted away from my neck, I felt his tongue there, licking at the sweat.

“Tell me you want this...” he murmured.

“No!” I let out a yelp as his teeth nipped the back of my neck. If I could’ve helped it, I wouldn’t have done it, but since I could help nothing at the moment, I bucked my ass back against him.

His answering growl proceeded his hands catching the top of suit once more and dragging it the rest of the way down my back. Even the hot air of Kadara felt cool against my heated flesh.

Just as I felt him yank my suit over my ass, dragging my panties along with it, I heard the clink of his belt. Then he was pressing his hard length against me.

We were both breathing hard.

“Tell me you want this.” He nudged one leg between my thighs.

“No,” I sobbed.

He placed a tender kiss below my ear. His breath was ragged, barely controlled.

“Tell me you want it, Ryder.” As he spread my legs a bit more, one of his hands dipped down in front of me, his clever fingers searching for and finding the center of my pleasure and anguish.

“Reyes!” I cried out as his fingers mocked that tiny bud. “Please...”

“Please what?” he rasped.

“I want this,” I sobbed. “Please, I want this, I –”

With one thrust, he was inside of me. It was such a shock of electricity that I nearly passed out. I was going to tear a hole in my lip, I was biting it so hard to keep from crying out.

Reyes didn’t sound like he was faring much better. His strokes were slow and deep, but his breath was still ragged in my ear.

I wasn’t sure how much more either of us could take; all I knew was that we were both at the ends of our tethers.

“Reyes,” I begged, clutching at the rock wall for something, anything, to hold on to, “please fuck me.”

It’s what he’d been waiting for. His slow thrusts turned desperate, his fingers biting into my hips as he took me there against the cave. As if sensing that I was suffocating from the effort not to cry out, he reached up, gripping one hand across my mouth. I sobbed into it, my entire body wracked from the spasms of pleasure racing through me.

I heard him groan; at that low, strained sound, I exploded around him, my wail lost in the grip of his fingers.

I felt him thrust forward once more, planting one hand against the wall next to my head for balance as he rocked into me.

We stood there, stock still, dripping with sweat, utterly depleted. Together, we sank to the ground, me cradled in his lap, his length still buried inside of me.

His forehead dropped to mine.

As we sat there, our breaths finally leveling out, that we heard the approaching roar of a vehicle. The sound was unmistakable.

“Shit,” I groaned.

He tipped his head back, eyes closed. “Vetra to the rescue?”

“I guess.”

With a sound of great displeasure, I disengaged from his lap. My arms were jelly as I tried to stick them back into the sleeves of my suit.

Then his hands were there, stilling my arms and threading them easily through the stretchy fabric.

The rumble of the Nomad was growing louder.

As he slowly zipped the front of my suit up, he placed a quick, secret kiss at the top of one of breasts.

“There,” he said, tucking the zipper firmly beneath my chin. “All in order.”

I didn’t feel all in order. I felt taken apart and put back together in supremely disorderly fashion.

A cloud of dust kicked up just below us in the valley as the Nomad slid into a sideways stop.

His smile was achingly tender as he placed another soft kiss on my lips.

The sound of the driver’s side whisking open drifted up to us.

“Tala!” came the shout.

Reyes frowned.

“Up here!” I called, waving an arm.

I saw Vetra start jogging up the slope, her shotgun out. She was barely breathing hard when she reached us.

“I heard chatter about gunfire over the comms,” she said by way of greeting. Her sharp eyes scanned us swiftly. “What happened?”

This was directed at Reyes. It wasn’t accusing, but neither was it entirely friendly.

Reyes had moved slightly away from me. “It was trap,” he said simply. “It’s been dealt with.”

Vetra’s gaze flicked to me. “You’re all right?”

“Yeah.” I tried to sound as impassive as Reyes.

Vetra gave us both another suspicious look. Then she cocked her head. “C’mon. We better get going.” With that, she started back down the slope, her shotgun still at the ready.

I turned to follow her, but a hand caught my arm. Reyes tugged me back against him, gave me a hard kiss.

“Come back to me, yes?” he whispered.

I gazed up at him, stroked my fingers down the side of his handsome face.

“Yes,” I whispered back. Standing on tiptoe, I gave him a final soft kiss. “I promise.”

I left him standing there, jogging down the slope to catch up with Vetra. The interior of the Nomad was eerily quiet as Vetra threw it into a high gear and spun it around, tearing back across the alien landscape.

I tried not to look back, but I did. Just before we flew around a corner in the road, I caught sight of the cave one more time, and the man who stood there, watching us disappear.


	14. Chapter 14

“What the hell do they want with _me_?”

Cora didn’t look at me, but I could tell she was upset about something.

“I don’t know. We just received the directive from Tann this morning to return to the Nexus.”

I wanted to figure this out, get a handle on the Initiative’s intentions before they tried to drown me in them. “But – I’m nothing to them!”

Cora gave me a slight smile. “Then I expect it shouldn’t take too long.”

I was left to stew on this in silence. By the time we finally landed on the Nexus’ docks, I was a jumble of nerves. I didn’t even get a chance to see anyone else as Cora hustled me off the Tempest.

We strode through the gleaming corridors of the Initiative base, ignoring the stares that accompanied my sudden appearance.

“Where are we even supposed to meet them?” I asked. Hopefully someplace neutral, like maybe the canteen.

“Director Tann’s office.”

“Ah. Low-key. Good to know.”

We reached the doors in front of Tann’s office in short time, pausing for them to open. As we waited, Cora said in a low voice: “Look, everything will be fine. I’ll be with you the whole time, okay?”

“Thanks,” I said, grateful.

The doors whispered open.

“This way, the meeting room is just up –”

“Lieutenant Harper!” The receptionist hurried over from behind the desk, wringing her hands and glancing at me nervously.

Cora paused again. “Yes?”

“Could I speak with you out in the hall, please?”

I shot Cora a look.

“Can it wait?” she asked. “I’m afraid we’re already late for a meeting.”

The receptionist twisted her hands together even tighter. “Ah – it’s just... your presence is not required at the meeting. Director Tann asked me to convey a few new missions for your team personally, and...” She made a weak gesture towards the doors.

Frowning, Cora turned to me. “Tala, you don’t have to go up alone. I can –”

“It’s okay,” I said, sounding vastly more confident than I felt. “I’ll go clear this up and be back in a jiffy.”

With that, I jogged over to the stairs, taking them two at a time to the second level. My steps nearly faltered at the top. Across the wide platform, dominated by a large comm table, the four Initiative directors stood talking in low voices.

Kandros was the first to turn. “Ms. Ryder.”

The other three turned my way. I saw Kesh offer me a nod in greeting, but Addison and Tann gifted me with stony expressions.

“ _Ms_. Ryder,” said Tann. “What a surprise – here I thought we’d be graced with the Pathfinder’s presence!”

My brows drew together. “Erin? I thought you asked to see me, specifically.”

“Oh, we did,” he said silkily. “But according to recent reports, the two of you seem to be one and the same...at least on Kadara, that is.”

I remained silent, but my face must have said it all.

“Pah!” said Tann, waving a slender hand dismissively. “She doesn’t even deny it!”

Addison spoke now. “Atalanta,” she said, and I winced. It was a rare moment when my full name is used and not followed by some sort of rebuke. “Is it true you’ve been posing as your sister – as an official Initiative Pathfinder – on Kadara?”

I firmed my lips. Best to just be honest. “Yes,” I said. “But it was to make contact with the Resistance when Erin was indisposed. Time was of the essence.” Make that slight honesty.

Addison’s brows rose. “Indeed? Well I suppose that explains your initial deception. But what about after that contact was made?”

My stomach sank. This wasn’t going to be good. I took a breath: “I was familiar with the port. I made more than just the one contact. I was able to aid the colonists –”

“The exiles,” interrupted Tann.

“—The people there in ways that Erin might not have been able to.”

Kandros stepped in. “While that is perhaps debatable,” he said, “it is true that Ms. Ryder was instrumental in removing the Roekaar threat from the area.”

“And I’ve heard that she’s gained the trust of many who live there,” Kesh threw in. “That can’t exactly be said for Eirenne, as effective as she is in other areas.”

“That is beside the point,” Tann snapped. “The point is that this young lady has been masquerading as a top member of the Initiative, all while gallivanting about with a known criminal entity!”

_Oh, fuck._

Tann looked immensely pleased with the effect these words had on me. “Well? What have you to say to that?”

“If you’re speaking of Reyes Vidal –”

“Of course I’m speaking of Mr. Vidal!” He scowled. “Why – exactly how many dalliances are you creating, all in the Pathfinder’s unblemished image?”

This was all getting to be too much.

“May I ask how you came by this information?” I asked.

Tann looked defiant; the other three directors had the grace to look uncomfortable.

“I only ask,” I said, my voice rising with my anger, “because that particular phrase you used – ‘known criminal entity’ – is actually cropping up a lot in conversation these days.”

“Oh?” asked Tann, sounding unimpressed.

“Yeah,” I said. “Now let me think where I last heard that phrase...let me think...” I tapped my chin for effect, then widened my eyes. “Oh, yes! I remember now – it was Sloane Kelly. Y’know, that unblemished soul currently tossing people out into the badlands of Kadara when they can’t pay their ‘protection fees’. Oh wait a moment – unless there’s a clerical error, and someone who has already paid for _Ms_. Sloane’s protection gets tossed out on their ass and ends up in the hands of fucking _cannibals_!” I knew I was red in the face, but I was past caring. “Is _that_ where your pristine intel is coming from?”

“That’s beside the point!” bellowed Tann. “Even if we believed your stories, in what world did you believe doing official Pathfinder business meant escorting a disreputable exile-turned-smuggler to a party?”

My blood boiled at his description of Reyes, but I managed to raise a cool brow. “You mean Sloane Kelly’s party?” I snorted as he raised his nostrils in the air. “Like I said, making contacts.”

“Oh!” he said, widening his luminous eyes. “And what distinguished contacts did you make while at this party of criminals, may I ask.”

“Keema Dohrgun,” I snapped.

“Who?”

“Keema Dohrgun. She’s the angaran representative to Sloane, and, in my mind, a far more stable contact than her employer.”

“And why would that be a desirable contact?”

“I’m sorry, I thought we were attempting to build a relationship with the angarans. Kadara Port was originally angaran-run before Sloane took it over. If she falls,” I glared at Tann and Addison, “and I have a feeling she will, it would be prudent to foster relationships with those who might then take power.”

“I see,” said Tann. “Yes, it all makes sense now. Sloane will fall, and this...Keema Dohrgun will take over. Yes, that is all very satisfactory. Well done. One small thing, however.”

I scowled up at him.

“We’ve actually decided it would be, as you say, _prudent_ to take a side in the little skirmish going on between the Outcasts and the Collective. We’ve chosen the Outcasts.”

“Are you serious?” I shouted. “Sloane Kelly is –”

“Sloane Kelly is a means to an end. When we’ve established an outpost on Kadara, we will most likely see fit to replace her and her little band of thugs, but in the meantime, she is the established authority there, and the one we will cultivate!”

“Yeah, well, good luck with that,” I said. “Erin’s got a ton on her plate right now, and I’m sure the priorities of an exile colony are pretty low on the list.”

“As a matter of fact,” said Tann, looking smug, “it’s recently risen a bit higher on that list. I believe the Tempest will have already set a course for the planet.”

I went cold. “What?”

He pretended to have misunderstood, saying with grating precision: “The Tempest has already left for Kadara.”

I looked to the other three directors for help in processing this. “But, what about –”

“What about you?” Tann scoffed. “You’re lucky you’ve somehow managed to charm Directors Kandros and Kesh. It’s the only reason you’re not locked-up right now.”

I despised having to ask, but I needed to know. “And the crew --?”

Tann actually smiled. “Yes, the Pathfinder’s team seemed fine with it. Now, if that’s all, I believe we all have much work to get back to...”

I was dismissed. Numb, I turned and walked back down the stairs.

The Tempest was gone. My friends – my sister – were gone, half a galaxy away. We were going to be supporting Sloane, which meant...which meant what? Nothing good. And Reyes...if the Initiative had their way, I’d never see him again.


	15. Chapter 15

When the doors to his private room whisked open, Reyes didn’t need to look up to know who it was. There was only one person who would dare intrude upon him in his current state.

His hands stayed threaded together, clutching the back of his head, his elbows braced on his knees as he somehow stayed balanced on the very edge of the couch.

“Reyes.” The angaran’s voice was sharper than usual. “I see you’re doing well.”

“Fuck off, Keema.” His tongue was sandpaper against the roof of his mouth. A glass tumbler lay shattered on the floor beneath him. It looked so like crushed ice that he was tempted to eat some.

“Someone needs to snap you out of this,” she said, moving across the room and gracefully taking a seat on the opposite couch. “You’ve been a veritable zombie for weeks, and I’m afraid the lack of command is showing in the Collective.”

“Fuck the Collective.”

“Reyes!” His name was a whip. “Don’t tell me you don’t know.”

His fingers dug deeper into his skull.

“No? Fine – I’m sorry you have to hear this from me, but your little pathfinder has been –”

His head lurched up. “Of course I know!” It was too much movement, too soon. He let it drop miserably back between his hands. _As if he wouldn’t have heard_...

He had always known whenever Ryder had landed, had always been prepared for her, whether she was aware of it or not. Well – apparently she wasn’t, as she seemed blissfully unaware now that he knew of her movements with Sloane Kelly. Either that, or she didn’t care, but Reyes wasn’t so far gone that he wanted to entertain that theory yet. That first day that the Tempest had landed since the cave, Reyes had been on edge, anxiously awaiting her return to him, reveling in the anticipation of activities that would soon prove to be reality...

But she hadn’t returned to him. And then he’d had to read reports about her appearance in the Outcasts’ headquarters, how she had seemed to come to an understanding of sorts with Sloane Kelly, and had since been spotted out in the badlands with the Outcast leader, chummily exterminating a hidden next of kett and who knew what else.

Not once had she attempted to see him. Not once had she attempted to receive his calls, or return them, or reply to his emails, save for a very short, very terse one that had first confused him, then infuriated him, then made him have to break into a shipment of terminals so that he could replace the smashed one.

“Reyes,” said Keema, “the Initiative is siding with the Outcasts. We need to act. Sloane’s feeling untouchable at the moment, and very soon, she will be.”

Reyes dragged his fingers through his hair, then down his face, pausing over his mouth.

“I know,” he muttered. He sat up somewhat, enough to prop his chin in one hand. He drummed his fingers along his jaw.

“Fuck it.” With a smoother motion then he should’ve been capable, Reyes stood and stomped over to the shiny new terminal. “Kaetus is still Sloane’s go-to?”

“I believe so. Hurts my feelings, but then, I am a sensitive soul.” She leaned forward to pour herself a drink. “Do you want a shave before creating an Outcast shitstorm?”

“No I do not.” He stabbed a key, waited for the screen to hum to life, then started scrolling through the Outcasts’ personnel files.


	16. Chapter 16

The meeting was at the place of his choosing. It was at the time of his choosing. And, according to scouts, she hadn’t even sent her own people to scope the locale out.

Keema hadn’t been exaggerating – Sloane Kelly felt invulnerable.

Reyes watched as she swaggered into the large cavern, unhurried, unimpressed. She wasn’t alone. Behind her trailed two people he recognized instantly: Drack and Vetra of the Tempest crew. And behind them was... Reyes’ heart tightened.

He had done little else but think of Ryder these past few weeks, how she had looked that last afternoon together, wild...magnificent. He tried to make that memory fit this creature striding along behind her team members. Her hair was just the same, sticking out at all points. Her figure was just as slight as he’d remembered – even now, he could imagine running his hands along her curves, his fingers itching to touch those same hills and valleys...

But that face... the way she moved... it was the same woman, and yet not. His Ryder would be twisting her head about, walking into walls as she tried to take in everything at once. This Ryder – her sharp gaze quickly scanned everything at once while barely moving her head. Her walk was strong, purposeful, too commanding to walk into anything.

As he thought this, her cool gaze flicked up to the ledge upon which he crouched, waiting. There was no spark of recognition, no brightening in her eyes as she impassively scanned him, then flicked her gaze to something more interesting.

So – that was the way of it.

He waited until the small party had reached the sunlit center of the cavern before slowly rising and stepping into the light.

“You look like you’re waiting for someone.”

It was Vetra who spoke. “Reyes?” She sounded confused. And worried.

Sloane, however, sneered. “I’m here for the Charlatan. Not some third-rate smuggler.”

“They’re one and the same.”

Reyes’ gaze snapped back over to the Ryder creature. Even the voice was the same, but different. This one spoke in one tone, and it was a non-tone, at that. She had Umi’s ability to look both interested and bored at the same time.

He bared his teeth into a smile. “Surpise.”

There was a bit more respect in Sloane’s face now. Perhaps she was even regretting not taking more precautions. She regarded him for a moment, hands on hips. “You said you wanted to settle things,” she finally said. “How?”

Reyes leapt down from the ledge. “A duel,” he said, landing easily on his feet. “You and me. Right now. Winner takes Kadara Port.”

“You want to avoid war by shooting each other?”

So he did have the Ryder creature’s attention, though she sounded more intrigued than outraged.

He turned to her, stone-faced. “Two people shooting each other is better than a lot of people shooting each other, no?”

She accepted this without argument. There was something seriously wrong with this Ryder. 

Sloane was looking around, at all the empty space, at the people who weren’t truly her people. But if there was one thing Sloane was, it was proud. She wouldn’t back down now, not in front of witnesses.

She didn’t disappoint.

“I’ll take those terms,” she said, her strong voice echoing off the cavern walls.

Without another word, they began circling one another, their boots dragging up small clouds of dust. He saw her fingers twitching towards her holster, but he didn’t take his gaze off her mismatched eyes. He wanted to see the moment the bitch met her end.

He caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Unable to help it, he flicked his gaze over to the Ryder creature. She wasn’t looking at them, but up and past them – up to the platform upon which his sniper waited.

For a moment, time stood still. Then a shot rang out. Sloane bucked from the impact, shock etched upon her scarred face.

Reyes moved slowly towards her, his fingers outstretched. “Bang,” he said softly.

Sloane crumpled forward.

It might have been awkward after that. But the Charlatan was not one to wallow in wasted emotion. As the rest of his men descended from the hidden platforms, Reyes barked, “Get her out of here. Prepare the crew. Kadara Port is ours tonight.”

He was preparing to follow his men out of the cave, when he heard that eerily-similar voice from behind him.

“Did you get what you wanted?” It didn’t sound like it cared either way, like maybe his answer had scientific properties that could be studied.

“What I want is peace,” he snapped, twisting back. “Sloane would’ve brought war to Heleus. We don’t have the population to survive that.” Maybe lecturing her would fire her up… It didn’t. But there was a moment – a shadow, a flash – of something as she turned away from him, towards where Drack and Vetra hovered, visibly uncomfortable.

Reyes couldn’t help himself. “Ryder –”

He reached for her; maybe they were in a fairytale, and she was under a spell, and his touch would jolt her, wake her up, return his little pathfinder to him and –

She moved so fast it was a blur. In the next instant, Reyes was borne into the air, suspended by nothing but whatever force the Ryder creature was directing at him. Her level gaze wasn’t angry, wasn’t blazing, just... looking up at him, her head tilted a little.

“Pathfinder!” Vetra was suddenly by her side, reaching out to draw her stretched hand down.

The force holding Reyes was gone at once. He fell back to the ground, landing in a crouch.

The Ryder creature was turning disinterestedly away.

Reyes was desperate for a reaction, anything. Before he knew what he was doing, he burst out: “Tala!”

She shot him a glance over her shoulder, the faintest of frowns creasing her otherwise apathetic face.

“No,” she said. Then Drack was laying a comforting arm about her shoulders and leading her away.

Vetra, however, hesitated. “Reyes...”

He stared at her, still stunned, at himself, at everything. This was supposed a momentous occasion. What the fuck had just happened?

Then she shook her head. “Take care of yourself.”

With that, she turned and left him, as well.


	17. Chapter 17

I stared across at the table at the scientist, stone-faced.

“What are you thinking?” I asked, taking a small, dignified sip of my drink. “Do you have it or not?”

The salarian was starting to sweat. “I –” His fingers twitched towards his credits.

I raised a cool brow. “You’re going for it? You really don’t think I already know what you have?” I tapped my head.

The scientist glanced down at his cards, then at the large pile of credits shoved together in the center of the table, then at the other players, watching the show-down raptly.

“I, umm...”

I drummed my fingertips upon the table, glowering.

His slender fingers twitched once more, then carefully set his cards down. “I fold.”

The table erupted in laughter.

“I – what?”

“That’s not the Pathfinder, Devin!”

Another player slapped him on the back. “That’s her sister.”

I grinned across the table, stumbling only a little as I rose to scrape my winnings over to me.

“Not the – but she said...”

“Don’t take it so hard,” said a krogan. “We all fell for it once. Pretty soon she won’t have anyone to scam, and we’ll start getting our money back.”

I let out a snort. “Uh-uh. I’m gonna get my very own SAM someday.” I tapped my forehead again, nearly poking myself in the eye. “You’ll see. Then I’ll be – _hick_ – unstoppable.”

“Excuse me, Ms. Ryder?”

I fell back into my chair, pockets bulging with credits. “What’s good, Bailey?”

“Umm, it’s – Director Kesh would like to see you in her office.”

“Ohhhhh,” crowed the other players, looking at me expectantly.

I did not disappoint. “You got it, Bailey.” I tossed back the rest of my whiskey. “Guys? You know the drill – gimme your drinks. All of ‘em – you too, new guy.” I rose only slightly unsteadily, then frowned down at all the cards scattered about. “You know what, gimme all the cards, too. I don’t want you playing without me, and also I don’t trust you.” My arms were suddenly chock-full of drinks and playing cards, some of which stuck out from the waistband of my pants, along with an extra shirt.

“Gentleman,” I said to the table at large, then nodded at the sole turian. “Lady.” With that, I strode towards the doors of the Vortex.

“Tala!” called Anan from behind the bar. “You know you can’t take those out with you!”

“And you know what to do about it!” I shouted back. “Complain to Director Tann.” I shot a grin over my shoulder. “Please and thank you.”

Out in the gleaming corridors of the Nexus – which were only slightly too bright – I got all the stares I wanted and more, my arms overflowing with perspiring glasses, a trail of playing cards and credits left in my wake.

“S’cuse me,” I called out. “Pathfinder, comin’ through. Got a date with a director. Probably just a little dinner, a little dancing...”

I trotted up the stairs to the second level, then the third, spilling only a little bit on the way. I barely paused long enough for the doors to sweep open at Kesh’s office, then toppled through them.

“Kesh?” I looked around. The krogan was, as usual, behind her desk. But she wasn’t alone. Another krogan stood across from her, turning towards me.

There was a moment when I just stared. Then playing cards and whiskey exploded into the air.

“ _Drack!_ ” I launched myself at the krogan, misfired, and somehow ended up draped over his large shoulder hump.

“I’ve missed you, Drack,” I mumbled, the side of my face squished up against his hump.

“Hey, kid,” he said gruffly. He batted one of my dangling hands out of his face. “She been like this long?”

Kesh sighed. “Pretty much since the day you guys left. She’s been trying to annoy Tann so much that he kicks her off the Nexus. Or locks her up.”

He grunted. “Not working?”

“Shockingly, Tann might be more stubborn than she is. But it hasn’t been all...this. Once in a while she gets a little embarrassed and ends up doing something useful. Calmed a mob of protesters ready to cut the air in hydroponics. Well, turned it into a rowdy anti-Tann demonstration, actually, but the air was never cut, so...preferable?”

“ _Did you bring me any presents from Heleus?_ ” I asked in a loud whisper.

“Alright, alright...” Snagging one of my hands, Drack tugged me off him.

I reeled only a little as my feet hit the floor.

“What about it, kid?” he asked.

I frowned up at him. “What about what?”

“Wanna get off this stupid ship?”

I clasped my hands up to my neck. “Oh Drack, you _did_ bring me a gift...hope.”

He shrugged. “I’m serious. You want off, we can make that happen.”

I stared up at him. Then I shot a glance over at Kesh.

“I’m doing really loud paperwork,” she said, not looking up. “I hear nothing.”

“I, umm...” I looked around desperately for a proper response. Seeing the spilled whiskey, I whipped the extra shirt from my pants and started to mop it up.

“Kid?”

I jerked my face back up. I didn’t want this to be a trick. Sure, it was _Drack_ , but still...I’d been so miserable recently.

I pushed myself back to my feet, clutching the whiskey-sodden shirt.

“Yeah. Yes. I mean, of course.”

“Hey, don’t sound so thrilled.”

A grin tried to spread across my face, faltered somewhat. “Are we...I mean, can we leave now?”

“Whenever you’re ready.”

I glanced around, spotted a waste bin, and tossed the soggy shirt into it. “Ready,” I said.

He shook his head. “You sure you don’t wanna keep her?” he threw at Kesh.

“Sorry, I can’t hear you over the sound of how riveting these forms are.”

He grunted, then dragged a dolly with a medium-sized crate over to me.

“Get in.”

I gazed up at him adoringly. “Drack, are you going to smuggle me out?”

He pushed my head down as I leapt into the crate.

“You know, it’s actually pretty cozy in here. Is this one of Peebee’s old magazines? I’m so excited I could just pee. Can I pee first?”

The top of the crate banged down.  
  
  
  
I really did have to pee. Especially from the way Drack pushed the dolly through the Nexus – I swear he banged it into more things than was entirely necessary. I smiled fondly, my knees tucked up against my chest. He _had_ missed me.

The dolly banged into something solid. My head banged into the side of the crate.

“FOR – _fuck’s sake_!”

I thought I heard a grunt of laughter somewhere above me.

“Get your chuckles out now,” I muttered, rubbing my head. “One day I’ll be free from this crate, and then...” Taking a deep breath through my nose, I closed my eyes and raised a fist. “...Power.”

I tried to keep track of where we were in the Nexus, so that I might get a sense of where Tann was and flip him off in secret as we rolled by. There was the hum of an elevator, another series of bumps as Drack pushed me across the threshold, and then my stomach was in my throat as it whisked down. I may even have nodded off on the shuttle ride, but then the crate was clamoring across another threshold. It was suddenly much louder. I could tell from the shouts and occasional curse that we were out by the landing dock. My heart sped up. We were so close.

There was another bump. The crate tipped backwards. I lurched against the side of it. It was a short ramp, however; I gratefully slid back to the center of the crate, hugging my cramped legs. The reality of getting smuggled was a whole lot less romantic than I’d thought.

I yawned. Maybe I had time for one more snooze.

The crate tipped forward, rocking to a stop.

“What’s that?” I heard a familiar muffled voice. “Is that the alcohol Kesh promised us?”

“See for yourself,” came the rumbled reply.

The lid of the crate popped off. I blinked at the sudden light, several heads silhouetted against it.

Then there was an explosion of voices.

“Tala!”

“Drack – it’s Tala!”

“What’re you doing in there?”

“I thought you were in jail.”

“Did you bring alcohol with you?”

Hands descended upon me, grabbing under my armpits and yanking me out.

I couldn’t help the bubble of laughter that escaped.

“Guys, guys! Easy, I’m breakable!”

That’s when Gil and Liam tackled me to the floor, Peebee jumping on top of them.

“ _Oof!”_

__

__

It was Gil’s turn to let out a strangled laugh. “Tala – you’re hugging me too hard.”

I tightened my arm around his neck. “I’m just so happy.”

There was a clapping of hands. “Alright, everyone up. We’re supposed to be professionals.”

Reluctantly, we disentangled our limbs and stood. Vetra stood in the doorway, grinning at me, along with Drack, Jaal, Dr. T’Perro, and Cora.

Cora was looking at me, half-satisfied, half-anxious. I immediately started walking towards her.

“Tala –” she began, holding up her hands, as if afraid I would strike.

I just grabbed her, pulling her into a fierce hug. “Thanks for coming back for me,” I whispered.

I felt Jaal’s heavy hand pat my head.

I finally stood back, taking it all in. I was really back.

Vetra gave me a soft punch on the shoulder. “Suvi and Kallo are still on the bridge. They want to see you when you get a chance, and I’m sure Lexi is just itching to give you a thorough –”

She paused, looking up into the doorway.

Erin had walked in, looking slightly surprised to see everyone standing there. Then she saw me.

“Tala...” It might have been my imagination, but I swear I saw the corner of her lips quirk up. “Hi.” She then backed out of the room and drifted off.

Vetra’s hand was back on my shoulder. “We’ve got a lot to talk about,” she murmured. “C’mon, let’s get you out of that stupid Nexus suit...”


	18. Chapter 18

“That’s it?” I asked. “Seriously?”

Vetra shrugged. “Unless you want to come chase down the Archon with us. Kadara’s on the way, but we can easily zip right by if –”

“Nope!” I quickly said. “That’s okay. I’d just get in the way.”

“That, you would.”

I grinned at her. I’d been doing a lot of grinning since my rescue from Tann’s evil clutches. Couldn’t seem to help it, not even when I saw Vetra give me a weird look.

“What?”

“I, uhh – I’m not sure it’s my place to say.”

“Oh?” I scooched closer to the edge of the bench opposite hers in the armory. “Consider my interest aroused – whose place is it to say?”

She looked frustrated. “Just – don’t go into the port all guns a-blazing, okay?”

“They don’t allow guns.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Do I? You make me sound like a villain in one of Liam’s westerns.”

Vetra made another weird face.

“You’re killing me. Vet –”

“Don’t go running to Reyes like nothing’s happened since the last time you saw him.”

I opened my mouth to respond, then closed it. Then opened it again.

“You’re saying that like it’s a bad thing.”

She muttered something under her breath, cleaning her gun with more concentration than it normally took her.

“You gonna give me a hint, or just leave it like that so I act super awkward when I see him?”

“Here’s a hint – go see Keema first.”

I raised a brow. “Keema? And where would I be finding her these days?”

“At Collective Headquarters.”

“Yeah? Where’s that?”

“Where Outcast Headquarters used to be.”

“Vetra, I swear by all that is scientifically –”

“The Outcasts and Collective went head-to-head. The Collective won.”

I frowned, processing this. “Let me get this straight,” I said slowly, “Sloane went up against the Charlatan, lost, and now Keema’s – what – in charge?”

Vetra looked like she wanted to say more, but then nodded. “Just about.” She jumped back a bit as I sprang off the bench, punching and kicking the empty air.

“ _Fuck_ -ing Tann!” I yelled. “All patronizing that _I_ might have a better clue as to what’s going on in Kadara...” I froze, my eyes widening. “HA! _That’s_ why they never gave me any updates on the port! I thought it was just punishment for my _daaaaaliance_ with a criminal from there, but no! _This_ is why! Because I was right!” I smacked the air in the face. “Fuck you, Tann.”

Vetra looked unimpressed. “You done?”

I paused, mid-kick. “Wait.”

She sighed. “What?”

I slowly lowered my leg. “I thought...Tann said it was a new directive. Supporting Sloane, I mean.”

“Yeah,” she said. “It was.”

I frowned. “And that directive would’ve gone to Erin.”

Now Vetra was looking smug. “It did.”

“So that means...Erin went against orders?”

Vetra went back to cleaning her gun. “Fuckin-ay right, she did.”

I dropped back down onto the bench, letting this sink in.

“Were you there?” I asked, looking back up.

“Sure was.”

“What was it like?”

“Actually?” Vetra thought about this. “It was kinda anti-climactic. It came down to a duel between Sloane and Re -- the Charlatan, one-on-one. Erin just didn’t do anything to stop Sloane’s getting shot.”

“Oh. And Keema was the Charlatan all along! That scamp.”

“What?”

“You said Keema’s in charge. So she’s the Charlatan.”

“Just...” Vetra looked even more frustrated. “Just go see her first, wouldja?”

“Fiiine, fine, I’ll go see her first.” I stood back up, stretching my arms above my head. “You gotta admit, though,” I said. “That was pretty fancy deducting on my part. I’m like a super-sleuth.”

“Oh, the fanciest.”

I headed for the doorway, turning just before reaching it. “Hey, Vetra?”

“What.”

“You can be my side-kick anyday.”

I ran before the rag could hit me.  
  
  
  
I suppose it said something about me that other than the Tempest, it was Kadara that felt the most like home. A port full of criminals and low-lifes, and I felt like shedding a few tears of happiness. As I stepped from the pod, I took a moment to breathe in the slightly sulfurous air – even that was welcoming.

I began to jog through the landing dock, not bothering to walk sedately as I may have tried to do while pretending to be Erin.

“Dalton!” I called to the dockmaster as I passed his station. “What’s good?”

He tilted his raised stylus in acknowledgement without looking up. “Ryder.”

It even felt like the port’s doors were opening faster for me; usually I’d have to stand there for at least a few seconds, waiting for them to respond. I quickly passed through them, side-stepping a couple agarans walking out. I was running now – the faster I saw Keema, the faster I could get down to the slums...

There was a new guard posted outside the headquarters. He held up a hand as I attempted to waltz right through.

“Hold up – name?”

“Ryder,” I said, hardly even breathing that heavily.

He glanced up at the name. “Ah – sorry. Go right in.”

As the doors whisked open for me, I heard him mutter into his comm piece: “Pathfinder, incoming.”

Heh. Whoops.

I looked around as I entered the core of the Collective Headquarters. Not much seemed changed from the last time I’d been inside it. I felt a bit flushed thinking back to the party, and what had transpired afterwards.

“Ryder.”

I switched my gaze to the platform at the head of the hall. There sat Keema Dohrgun, looking far less pretentious that Sloane Kelly had ever been in the seat. Or maybe she just looked more the part.

“To what do we owe this pleasure?”

I frowned slightly at her tone, refined, yet slightly irritated.

“Good to see you, too, Keema. I like what you’ve done with the place.”

Her brows rose imperceptibly. “I see you’ve found your tongue once more.”

“Okay...” I stopped when I was close enough to the fancy chair that it didn’t feel like I was talking louder than normal. “Congratulations, by the way.”

She didn’t respond, but sat there, looking at me as if I had two heads.

I tried to give myself a subtle once-over, like maybe I’d forgotten to put on pants. When that seemed in order, I tapped a toe of one boot behind me.

“I was...sorry, I was told to check-in with you.”

Still, she said nothing.

I waited another minute, but when she remained silent, just looking at me with those brilliant eyes, I lost my patience.

“Well, anyway, it was good to see you, hope to do this again sometime, thanks again for taking care of Sloane and –”

“Wait.”

I turned back. “For what?”

I watched as she shooed away the few guards who were milling about. As the last one exited the hall, Keema reclined farther back into her chair.

“Why would you be thanking me for taking care of Sloane?”

I looked at her, confused. “Because you did? I thought that you and Sloane...one-on-one...what?”

Keema was shaking her head. “Did you get bumped in the head, darling? More than once?”

“Maybe? Probably. Why?”

“Why on earth would you think I was the one who shot Sloane?”

I furiously thought back to what Vetra had said. “Because – because you’re the Charlatan!...aren’t you?”

She was looking back at me, just as bewildered. “Darling, _I’m_ not the Charlatan. I thought you knew – you were there...”

I bit my lip. “Ah.”

“Ah?”

“That wasn’t me.”

Closing her eyes, Keema raised her fingertips to her forehead. “Explain.”

“The short version? I’m not the Pathfinder. My sister is. She was the one who went with Sloane to the duel.”

Those fingertips massaged her temple. “Forgive me, but I got the impression that you were. I think you’ll find that a lot of people around here were of that understanding.”

“I had to step-in for my sister a couple times, yeah.”

“A couple?” Keema let out a long sigh. “Oh, this explains so much.”

I, too, let out a long breath. “Soo... we’re good?”

Keema opened her eyes. “ _We_ are, darling. I can’t make any other promises.”

I grinned. “That’s more Reyes’ field of –”

“What’s your name?” she asked me suddenly. “I assume it’s not Eirenne.”

“Atalanta,” I said. “Tala.”

“Tala...of course. Well, Tala, if I could give you a bit of advice...”

I waited, but she shook her head. “Never mind. It’s not my place to tell.”

I desperately wanted to roll my eyes. “Can you give me a hint?”

She winced. “When you go see Reyes – and I imagine it’s soon – try not to go in guns a-blazing, would you?”


	19. Chapter 19

I was feeling slightly less confident as I ran back through the port, through the market to the lifts.

“Heyyy, Pathfinder!”

I barely turned my head as I called back, “Not the Pathfinder, Umi, can’t stop now, we’ll chat later!”

The lifts were old, and like most old things, didn’t take kindly to younger things cursing their rusty parts to go faster.

Finally, the platform creaked to a stop. I nearly garroted myself in my impatience to get out of it.

Then it was merely a matter of jogging across the iron grates scattered across the smelly puddles towards the pounding bass of Tartarus. Not feeling like hearing more greetings directed at Erin, I scaled the club’s exterior staircase, then strode to the second-level door. It whisked open for me, enveloping me in its familiar din, writhing bodies, and alcoholic fumes.

Even up here, on the second floor, where the clientele was supposed to be far more interested in what Tartarus had to offer, I got several stares and mutters. I didn’t care. I had eyes for one thing and one thing only, and it was the doors in the back leading to the private room.

I reached them.

They swished open.

I stepped in, looking around –

It was empty.

“Reyes?”

I walked a bit farther into the room, turning slowly about. “Reyes?”

As usual, there was a bottle and glass on the coffee table. Both were empty.

“Well, shit.” If he wasn’t here, he could be anywhere. I was about to leave him a note when the doors behind me swished open once more.

I spun about, beaming. “Rey—!”

It wasn’t Reyes. A serving girl had entered, bearing an empty tray. She smiled instantly. “Hey, Ryder! Long time, no see.”

“Hey, Jax.” I moved back so she could get to the empty glasses. As she stacked them on the tray, I asked, “Umm, hey – you seen Reyes around?”

“Yeah, of course. Downstairs.”

I frowned. “Really?” He rarely left the sanctity of his private room unless he was leaving Tartarus entirely.

She shrugged. “He’s been doing it for the past few months.” Then she grinned. “The regulars seem to like it.”

I chewed on my lip. “I bet they do. Thanks, Jax.”

She paused on her way out. “Want me to let him know you’re looking for him?”

“No, thanks. I’ll head down in just a sec.”

“Sure thing. Good seeing you again.”

“You too.”

I waited for the doors to close once more before quietly freaking out.

_Don’t go running to Reyes like nothing’s happened since the last time you saw him..._

Shit. Something was wrong. True, it had been ages since they’d seen one another, and it’s not like they had each other’s emails – they had only ever communicated through Erin’s links.

Erin. Shit-shit- _shit_.

Suddenly every second was of the essence.

I ran for the doors, bodily shoving them open faster than they were accustomed. I headed for the stairs, barely registering the stares leveled at me. I’d never seen Tartarus so crowded before. Figures even congested the stairs, making it a supreme effort to descend them – I might’ve jumped, had there not been so many people beneath, as well.

“Reyes!” I called, desperately wishing for a gloved hand to suddenly reach out from the throng, snag my arm and draw me protectively to his side. “Reyes!” It occurred to me that even if he was feet from me, he might not hear me.

I struggled through the crowd to the bar, ignoring the bodies that pressed up against me from all sides. I finally managed to squeeze my way to the counter.

“Kian!” I shouted, trying to out-do the pumping bass as I waved down the bartender. “ _KIAN!_ ”

“Heyyy, Ryder, what’s –”

“Have you seen Reyes?”

He looked only mildly surprised. He jerked his chin back towards the stairs. “Back corner. Ryder –”

“Thanks, Kian!”

I fought my way back through the crowd, nearly throwing elbows in my desperation. What was Reyes doing back there? His private room was much nicer than –

I stopped dead in my tracks. The space where I had once found Derc lounging with a couple bored women had been turned into a VIP area of sorts. The number of women had multiplied, and, judging from the dancing, were far less bored. A bouncer of sorts stood at the very edge. He gave me a quick once-over, apparently deemed me adequate, and pushed me along into the area.

I stumbled a bit. Like a school of fish, bodies automatically swam away from me, lest I step on their heels. And in that sudden space – I saw him.

He was reclining, as was his wont, on one of the couches. His arms stretched out along the back, a glass tumbler dangling from the fingertips of one hand. His head was thrown back against the cushion, his eyes closed. He may have been sleeping, except that I saw him shift to accept the sudden weight of one of the dancers in his lap.

Then Reyes' eyes opened. He looked up at the girl grinding her hips into his, gave her a lazy smile. Then, as if sensing me, his eyes snapped over to me. That golden gaze ensnared mine. Held it, glittering when I didn’t look immediately away.

His smile turned mocking as he pulled the girl’s face down to his to give her a long, lingering kiss. His eyes opened mid-kiss, caught mine once more. I recoiled from the look in them, like he despised me and wanted to fuck me, all at the same time.

Another girl hopped onto the couch, curling up next to him. I saw the laugh on his face as he tilted his head back, allowing her to lick up his neck.

I felt sick. Whatever I’d been wishing for, whatever I’d been expecting...

I twisted around, tried to shove my way back through to the stairs. I could just climb the outside of them, vault over the top, run for the doors, then I could just make for the hills in the badlands and –

A gloved hand snaked out of the throng, grabbed my arm, yanked me back against a hard chest.

“Ryder...” came the suede drawl. “It’s good to see you.”

“Sure looked it.” I tried to shove myself away, my fury building.

“Want to go someplace private?” he murmured. How I could hear those low tones, I had no idea.

“Nope.”

“That sounded like a yes.”

His grip was a vice around my arm. I continued to struggle, but he ignored me, dragging me from the VIP area and up the stairs. The bodies seemed to melt out of his way.

“It wasn’t a yes!” I shouted, but it was no use. Before I knew it, the doors to his private room were whisking open, and I was stumbling through them.

I caught myself before I could fall, whirling around on him.

“The fuck, Reyes?” I was mad, but I was also confused, hurt.

He just gave me that mocking smile. “Drink?”

“No.”

Ignoring me, he went to a cupboard by his terminal, pulled out a couple glasses and a fresh bottle. He carried these back to the table, squeaked the stopper out with his teeth, and poured.

“I’ve missed you, you know,” he said. He didn’t sound it, though. He sounded like he wanted to rip my guts out and play cat’s cradle with them. He turned back towards me, a drink in each hand.

“Here,” he said, sauntering over to me. “Drink.”

“I don’t want it.”

“Suit yourself.” He tossed his back in response. When he was about to do the same with the second, I knocked it out of his hand.

He gazed down at his empty hand, then snapped it up to me. His golden eyes were narrowed, predatory.

“Reyes...” I said warningly.

He moved so fast I barely had time to back away from him. I found myself pressed up against the wall of his room, trying to ignore the feelings that rushed over me at his sudden warmth.

His hands came to settle on either side of my head. He dipped his face down towards mine.

“Shall we pick up where we left off before?” His voice was a dangerous murmur. “I confess, I can’t pass by a cave without getting a hard-on these days.” He pressed his hips into me.

“Don’t.”

“Do you not remember it? Did you think I could forget? Could you be so cold that –”

“ _I’m_ the cold one?” My rage was finally enough to shove him away. “I’m not the one rubbing a fucking –” I floundered for the word, “—“ _menage a_ -whatever in your face!”

“ _Trois_ ,” he snapped, the control over his anger fraying.

“Ohhh,” I waved my hands in the air. “You’re soo good with words, I'm _sure_ that’s how you got your codename!”

That threw him off; he didn’t look like he liked it one bit. “What?”

“ _Shena_ ,” I spat. “Freakin’ – means ‘mouth’.”

“I know what it means!” he shouted.

“Good for you!” I shouted back.

The doors whisked quietly open, admitting a server with another tray of drinks. We both jerked our heads around. “Give us a second!”

The server stumbled backwards, spun around, and made a speedy exit.

Muttering to himself, Reyes stomped over to the doors and punched the lock pad. The doors made a slight sound of protest, but didn’t open.

He braced a hand against the wall, head bowed. Then, slowly, he turned back to me.

“Why,” he rasped. “Why have you come back. You could’ve stayed away, you could’ve...” As if he didn’t know where else to put them, except around my throat, he anchored his hands on his hips. Then he slammed his boot into the coffee table, sending it flying back into the couch, along with the half-empty glasses and bottle.

“What the _fuck_ , Ryder?”

“What the fuck, _me_?” I blazed back. My throat was closing up against the rage and utter fucking disappointment. “You _told_ me to come back! I thought that –” A lump lodged in my throat. Either I stayed still and said nothing, or kept talking and made the lump squeeze out through my tear ducts.

Reyes was unmoved. “Oh, you did come back, sweetheart. Remember? Making nice with Sloane, giving her a fucking shoulder to cry on when Sloane’s own people kicked the shit out of her lover? Any of this ringing a bell?”

I buried my face in my hands. I would’ve laughed if I didn’t feel so miserable.

“ _Wasn’tme_ ,” I muttered into my fingers.

“What was that?”

I looked up, my face supremely blotchy. “It _wasn’t me_.”

He narrowed his eyes.

I did laugh now, but it was hollow. “It was my sister, Reyes. The real Pathfinder. Might as well know now, I lied to you from the moment we met.”

He went very still. “So you’re...”

“Not the Pathfinder. Ten fucking points for Tartarus. My sister – Eirenne – she got knocked around pretty bad on Habitat 7, couldn’t always make appointments on time. I’d step-in where I could. Really sorry for the deception, won’t happen again.”

I gave a loud sniff, wiping my nose messily on my sleeve.

He still wasn’t saying anything. Then he cleared his throat.

“Your sister – is she not able...do you not speak to one another?”

My eyes blazed up at him. “None of your damn business.”

He made a sound of frustration.

A shuttered breath escaped me. “Welp. This is dumb. Good catching-up, Reyes.”

I went to leave.

His hand stopped me.

“Where’ve you been, then?” His voice was soft.

I glared down his fingers. “Let me go.”

He didn’t.

“I don’t care that you said you were a pathfinder.” His words were still quiet. “That’s not why I – why didn’t you come back.”

I jerked my arm out of his grasp. Dear stars, the tears were threatening again, and in greater numbers.

“I _couldn’t_.” My bottom lip gave a single tremble. That was it. I wouldn’t let the bastard see me cry. I ran for the doors, forgetting they were locked. I kicked at them, banging a fist on the lock pad.

“Hey—hey...”

I spun away from him. “Don’t touch me.” My vision swam. I had to keep away from him, or I might kill him.

“Ryder...”

“No!” I grabbed a toppled glass and threw it at his head. He ducked. It shattered behind him against the sullen doors.

“Stay away from me!” I snatched up another glass, hurled it. This, too, he dodged.

It was only when I grabbed the bottle that he lunged, ripping it away, holding me tightly with his other arm.

“ _Get off me!_ ” I shrieked, kicking at him.

He didn’t. Instead, he twisted me around so that my back was pressed him, his arms wrapped tightly about me. I struggled against him, but he just made soft shushing noises into my hair.

“Easy,” he murmured. “Easy, sweetheart. Take a deep breath.”

“Fuck you, Reyes.” I hiccupped.

I felt his jaw shift against my hair, like he was smiling.

This should’ve enraged me more, but the bastard had my number. Having him this close, this warm against me, swaying just the tiniest bit, his wonderful scent enveloping me...

“Better?” he murmured.

I gave another loud sniff.

“Now then,” he said gently, “why couldn’t you come back to me.”

“Because fuck Tann, that’s why.”

His laugh was soft. “Tann... the Nexus?”

I gave a stiff nod.

“He didn’t let you leave?”

I jerked my head to the side and back, my traitorous lip trembling again.

“Why didn’t he let you leave.”

And then the tears started. “They, umm...they didn’t know? That I was helping Erin? If they found out the implant makes her unfocused, dangerous, they might...”

My voice shook. He murmured soft words into my hair.

“And then they...they found out about us? And I – it made it worse.”

He said nothing for a moment, just rocked me in his arms.

And then, very slowly, very gently, he turned me around.

I couldn’t look at him. He didn’t make me, but tilted my chin up just a bit, cupping my face in his hands, just so that he could graze his lips softly across my brow, my closed eyelids, the tip of my nose.

“You were trapped, waiting for someone to come rescue you?”

I made a weird gurgling noise. “I was cheating at poker.” In my misery, my crimes against my fellow poker players were enhanced ten-fold.

His chuckle was low. “Of course you were, sweetheart.” He brushed his lips over my cheekbones. “How did you escape?”

“Drack,” I whispered, still not daring to open my eyes, but offering my face to his gentle touches. “He, umm, he smuggled me out.”

“Drack did?” His thumbs brushed over the wet streaks left by tears. “I should see if he’s looking for new employment.”

“He’d never abandon me like that.”

“Hush, of course he wouldn’t.”

We stayed that way for while, just swaying back and forth, his cheek pressed against my hair.

Then I felt him shift slightly, felt one of his arms scoop me up behind my knees. I felt him carry me a few paces, heard his boot kick something away, heard heavy glass scrape against the floor.

And then I felt him lower himself onto the couch, keeping me firmly in his arms before settling me into his lap.

I buried my blotchy face against the crook of his neck.

He didn’t say anything, but made soft humming noises. The hand curled around my back traced up and down my spine, giving me just the smallest shivers. His other fingers made lazy circles against my thigh.

“Tell me more about your sister,” he murmured.

“No.”

I felt his smile. His hands continued to trace light circles across my back and thigh.

“I thought she was you,” he said softly. “And then I remember thinking, that can’t be my Ryder, she’s not walking into things.”

I gave a weak laugh, then lifted my head slightly. “When did you see her?”

“Ah – that would have been when I challenged Sloane to a duel.”

I frowned. “Challenged Sloane to – so you’re...”

“The Charlatan.”

“Wow. Suddenly I feel much better.”

“Better?”

“At least I never referred to myself in the third person.”

His arms tightened around me briefly.

“She was a force,” he said, his voice a thoughtful murmur. Then he gave a soft laugh. “I tried to...ahh...reason with her, convince her that she was actually you.”

“Yeah?” I glanced up at him. “What happened?”

He gave a rueful smile. “Threw me ten feet into the air and stared at me.”

My laugh was watery. “Well...you’re lucky she likes you.”

He grunted. “Does she?”

Tentatively, I reached a hand out, trailing my fingers across his hard chest. “Yeah. She’d been given new orders. We were to side with Sloane, at least for the time being.”

The hand on my back moved up to my shoulder, kneading the tension there. “She had ample opportunity to ruin all my careful planning.” He was quiet for a moment. “Why didn’t she?”

“Probably because you kept sending her flirty emails.”

He laughed, tugging me even closer to him.

“Minx,” he said fondly, gazing down at me. He bent his face towards mine, so near to kissing me. I closed my eyes slightly, waiting.

He paused, a breath away from my lips.

“What’s your name?” he murmured.

“Oh... Atalanta.”

“Atalanta.”

I looked up into his eyes, green with flecks of gold.

“Tala...” he whispered. And he kissed me.


End file.
